Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Mike Freer and Duncan Baker

Tuesday 20th February 2024 Commons Chamber

[Duncan Baker (North Norfolk) (Con)]

T8. I welcome the fact that 20 Nightingale courtrooms have been set up around the country to boost capacity, but none of them appears to be in the east of England. I know we are all well behaved in the east, but have we been forgotten?

[Mike Freer]

I can reassure my hon. Friend that we would not dream of forgetting about him. We have seen an increase, particularly on special educational needs and disabilities, of over 300% in receipts, and with the increased number of judges and panel members, we are seeing a 37% increase in disposals this year. We are trying to address the issue of SEND with the Department for Education, and if my hon. Friend thinks there is a problem in this area, I am more than happy to meet him to discuss it.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Mike Freer and Duncan Baker

Tuesday 22nd November 2022 Commons Chamber

[Duncan Baker (North Norfolk) (Con)]

4. What steps he is taking to reduce the size of waiting lists for family court cases.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice (Mike Freer)]

We established the family mediation voucher scheme in March 2021 to help to reduce the number of private law cases coming into court. We have invested nearly £9 million to date and issued more than 12,800 vouchers to support families. In 2021, family sitting days were at their highest level ever. In July, we introduced a regional virtual court pilot to allow deputy district judges from other regions to sit virtually in London and the south-east so that they can hear as many cases as possible.

[Duncan Baker]

We all know that there are significant backlogs in the family court system. However, what some might not know is that it is having real knock-on effects on families, single parents and children across the country. The sooner those cases can be heard and dealt with, the better for everybody involved. What does my hon. Friend intend to do to address those backlogs, and what specific measures is he taking to ensure that there are enough judges and adequate funding for our family courts?

[Mike Freer]

My understanding is that the voucher scheme has been successful, and that about 65% of families who have used it say that it kept them out of the court process. It is our intention to ensure that the voucher scheme continues, with additional publicity. To address some of the other issues relating to capacity, using the virtual courtroom is a possibility, and the general recruitment of more than 1,000 new judges should help.