Law Society president Lubna Shuja branded the delays, affecting custody and residence cases involving nearly 19,000 children during the quarter, ‘unacceptable’. Disposal times have been growing worse since 2016, when cases took about 22 weeks on average.
Shuja said: ‘HM Courts & Tribunals Service has previously estimated that it may take three years to return to pre-pandemic levels, which is very worrying, particularly for cases that concern children and family matters.
‘These delays are preventing parents from being able to see their children and could mean children are left without the stability they need to thrive. The UK government must ensure, so far as possible, that there are sufficient fee-paid and full-time judges to deal with existing and new caseloads.’
The Ministry of Justice figures also show the level of legal representation in the family court, ten years after LASPO (the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012) came into force in April 2013, removing legal aid from most private family cases.
Both sides were unrepresented in 40% of cases in the quarter up to December 2022, up from 17% in January to March 2013. Correspondingly, both sides had legal representation in 18% of cases in the final quarter of 2022, compared to 41% in the first quarter of 2013.
Shuja said: ‘Litigants in person require more time and support from the court, which is likely to slow down the system and increase overall costs.
‘Early legal advice must be reinstated so families can be supported in the court system. This would also make a cost-effective contribution to resolving the backlogs in the family courts.’
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