Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to reduce waiting times for Child Arrangements Order proceedings in (a) Surrey and (b) Surrey Heath constituency.

The Ministry of Justice is committed to improving timeliness in child arrangement proceedings, and the Family Justice Board regularly monitors timeliness data against performance targets it has set both regionally and nationally.

The roll out of Child Focused Courts represents a significant reform to family private law. Families benefit from a streamlined, problem-solving approach which brings forward a holistic assessment of needs and risks and enables the court to make safe decisions without delay.

Data from the 10 areas already operating the model shows cases are being resolved up to twice as fast as the national average, and outstanding cases have fallen by over 50%. Although the model is not yet operational in Surrey, the Government recently announced the national rollout of Child Focused Courts across England and Wales by March 2029. As part of a phased approach to rollout, we will work to ensure all areas are preparing for implementation of the model.