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29 April 2010 / Rosie Schumm
Issue: 7415 / Categories: Features , Family
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Nipping it in the bud

Will the Revised PLP remedy some of the problems of the family law system? Rosie Schumm reports

When Sir Mark Potter, President of the Family Division, set out his Framework for a Family Court in December 2006, he had the long term aim of poviding a consistent and unified national approach in the family courts. One of the key elements of his framework was the plan for the introduction of a new practice direction with regard to the case management of private law children matters.

He also had to address the immediate problem affecting the family justice system, namely, the effect of the mounting pressures and backlogs faced by Cafcass (specifically, in the appointment of guardians and the production of court reports) set against the backdrop of a shortfall in funding.

On 1 April 2010, the long awaited Revised Private Law Programme Practice Direction (PLP) came into effect (courts will have until 4 October 2010 to effect its full implementation).

The revised PLP builds on the success achieved by the combined roles

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NEWS
Pathfinder courts—renamed ‘Child focused courts’—are to be rolled out nationally, following a successful pilot where backlogs halved and cases were resolved up to seven and a half months faster
The Court of Appeal has unanimously dismissed a £385,000 costs order against a father, in a case that centred on what is required to meet the threshold of ‘reprehensible or unreasonable’ behaviour
Centuries-old burial laws would be overhauled, under Law Commission proposals to address the burgeoning problem of shortage of cemetery space
The government has committed an extra £32m to women’s charities and services tackling addiction, trauma, abuse and homelessness
The Financial Ombudsman is poised for major reform to return it to a simple, impartial dispute resolution service
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