Family Courts: Administrative Delays

(asked on 19th October 2021) - View Source

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to ensure the delays in family courts do not result in further abuse of former partners.


Answered by
James Cartlidge Portrait
James Cartlidge
Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
This question was answered on 27th October 2021

This government is determined to protect and support the victims of domestic abuse and their children better. We recognise the additional pressures that the family justice system has faced since the Covid-19 pandemic, and the impact this has had on children and families who use the family courts. Cases with the most significant safeguarding issues remain our priority, and where suitable, cases are being heard remotely to continue maximising our use of our estate.

HMCTS has been prioritising certain cases for processing. The ‘highest priority’ category in private law includes urgent applications in children cases, domestic abuse injunctions and urgent applications in financial remedy cases and decrees absolute. When an application for a domestic abuse injunction is received, there is a requirement for court staff to refer the application to a judge within three hours of receipt and inform the applicant or their legal representative of the next steps.

This year, the government will be providing around £300m for victim and witness support services. This includes £800k funding per year to the FLOWS project, run by RCJ Advice, to provide free legal support to victims of domestic abuse who wish to apply for an emergency protective order from the courts.

Where there are divorce proceedings, either party may apply for a financial order at any time and do not need to wait until the divorce is finalised to seek financial freedom. A respondent to the divorce proceedings can ask the court to delay the divorce until the court is satisfied with their financial situation.

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