Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the Pathfinder family court scheme being rolled out in (a) Wales, (b) West Yorkshire and (c) Greater Manchester.

The Pathfinder pilot started in February 2022 in Dorset and North Wales. It was expanded to Southeast Wales and Birmingham in 2024. On 3 February this year we announced it will start in Mid and West Wales on 3 March and in West Yorkshire on 3 June.

Data published in February showed that Pathfinder courts in North Wales and Dorset resolve cases 11 weeks earlier on average and the backlog of cases has reduced by over 50% since the pilot started.

A two-part evaluation of the pilot in North Wales and Dorset is underway and will be published this year. That will include a process evaluation based on the experience of practitioners, as well as research with children and families who have taken part in the pilot. A feasibility study is currently underway which will develop feasible options to inform our longer-term evaluation strategy.

No assessment has been made to date about the potential implications of the Pathfinder pilot being rolled out in Greater Manchester.