Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps the Government is taking to provide pastoral support for vulnerable parties during the family justice process.

This Government recognises that family court proceedings can be difficult for all those involved, particularly vulnerable parties.

The courts have safeguards in place to support participation and giving of evidence during family law proceedings for vulnerable persons. Family Procedure Rules Part 3A and Practice Direction 3AA require the courts to consider the vulnerability of parties and put appropriate support measures in place. For cases about child arrangements and contact involving domestic abuse, Practice Direction 12J provides additional safeguards in the Family Court.

Alongside these protections, this Government is delivering a wide package of reforms to better support children and families throughout family proceedings. In private law, this includes the national rollout of Child Focused Courts by March 2029. Under this model, victims of domestic abuse can receive emotional and practical support from Independent Domestic Violence Advisers (IDVAs). The model also increases children’s participation in proceedings by ensuring recommendations and final decisions are clearly explained to them and more than doubles the number of children seen by social workers.