Are Legal Aid cuts actually costing taxpayers money? New government statistics show that the cuts to Legal Aid are causing more parents to represent themselves in court, seemingly costing taxpayers more money in the process. New figures from the National Audit Office (NAO), the body which examines public spending on behalf of the UK Parliament,…
Increasing support for change to laws on cohabitation to protect those who split There are an increasing number of calls to reform laws on cohabitation because very often one of the couple is left with little or nothing despite years of cohabitation. The law surrounding cohabitation needs complete reform according to Resolution and two senior…
Could failing to pay child maintenance harm your credit rating? From March 2015, avoiding child support payments could have serious new implications for non-resident parents. Plans are in place, subject to parliamentary approval, for the Child Support Agency and its successor the Child Maintenance Service to share information about non-paying clients with credit referencing agencies. Arrears…
Fewer couples being referred to mediation by solicitors New information released this week shows that fewer and fewer couples are being referred to mediation by solicitors, instead seeking out mediation services themselves. The National Family Mediation service (NFM) statistics show that in the last year, the number of self-referrals rose from 19% to 51%. It…
Resolution publishes its response to the President’s Family Court transparency consultation On 15th August the President of the Family Division launched his consultation on increasing transparency in the Family Court. Take a look at our earlier article for information on the consultation and how you can take part. Individuals and organisations were invited to comment…
President calls for sweeping reforms of the family law justice system Sir James Munby, President of the Family Division of the High Court, the most senior family law judge in England and Wales has spoken at the Legal Wales Conference about his desire to see ‘radical’ reform he believes is necessary to counter the negative…
Family Law Jargon Buster The legal world uses a lot of terms that you won’t see in everyday life. In recent years there have been steps to cut out the old-fashioned Latin words and encourage the use of straight-forward, everyday language that people can understand and use whether they have legal training or not. In…
Ministry of Justice statistics show a drop in Family Court cases New statistics released by the Ministry of Justice show that the number of cases in the Family Court fell by 19% compared to the same period last year. From April to June 2014 there were 57,720 cases concluded across England and Wales compared to…
President of the Family Division begins consultation on increasing court transparency Sir James Munby, President of the Family Division (the part of the High Court dealing exclusively with family law issues) has issued a consultation document seeking the views of family court users – solicitors, barristers, lay advisers, academics and families – in relation to…
UK court considers child abduction laws in recent appeal The recent case Re H [2014] saw a father’s appeal to bring back his two children from Bangladesh dismissed, despite the father believing that the children were being unlawfully detained there and that they were at risk of significant harm. The Facts The High Court previously…