Family Court statistics for the first quarter of 2018 reveal a ‘worrying trend’ for delay, a senior solicitor has warned.
Despite the 26-week rule introduced for disposal of care and supervision cases in 2014, the average time taken is now 30 weeks and only 49% of cases were disposed of within the recommended timescale.
Divorce cases are also taking longer to conclude—the average time to Decree Nisi and Decree Absolute was up three weeks, to 27 weeks, and up two weeks, to 51 weeks, respectively.
Meanwhile, the proportion of cases where neither side had legal representation was 37%, a rise of 20% since the legal aid cuts took effect in 2013. The proportion where both sides were represented dropped by 16% to 19% over the same period.
Jo Edwards, partner at Forsters, said: ‘The reality is that the pace of change is too rapid and the effect of the swathes of court closures there have been in recent years is huge delay in the system.’
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