Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent progress he has made on piloting (a) integrated domestic abuse courts and (b) other new types of family courts.

We are committed to improving the family court experience for survivors of domestic abuse and their children. On 21 February 2022, we launched the Integrated Domestic Abuse Court pilot in courts in Dorset and North Wales. The pilot is testing a new approach to dealing with certain private law proceedings. It moves away from the adversarial model and towards a more investigative, problem-solving approach based on the features and risk profile of a case. The pilot courts will be able to offer out of court issue resolution for cases with no safeguarding concerns by incorporating referral or signposting to local or digital resources.

Family Drug and Alcohol Courts are another new type of family court. These courts provide a problem-solving approach to care proceedings, specialising in alcohol and substance misuse. In this approach, a team of substance misuse specialists, domestic violence experts, psychiatrists and social workers carry out an early assessment and agree an intervention plan with parents who come before the court in care proceedings. The Family Drug and Alcohol Courts model is delivered by the Centre for Justice and Innovation, and the Department for Education is the lead government department with responsibility in this area.