Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will hold discussions with HM Courts and Tribunals Service on the potential merits of ensuring that domestic abuse victims attending Liverpool Family Court can use a different entrance to the building to that of their alleged perpetrator.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
It is important that the Family Court works for children and families. That is why the Government is committed to ensuring there are adequate protections in place for users and that we improve the timeliness of cases.
I am aware that, due to the building’s architecture, layout and shared use there are issues in arranging separate entrances at Liverpool Family Court. To mitigate this, it is possible to arrange staggered arrival times, secure waiting rooms and separate exits. Special measures can be requested by contacting the court as soon as possible, ideally 5 days before the hearing. Liverpool Family Court's contact details can be found at: Liverpool Civil and Family Court - Find a Court or Tribunal - GOV.UK.
We recognise the significant impact that delay can have on children and families. We are committed to tackling backlog of cases we inherited from the previous Government and the latest published data shows progress is being made. When comparing October to December 2024 to the same period in 2023, under the previous Government, the average duration of private law cases has fallen from 45 to 42 weeks and care proceedings over the same period have fallen from 42 weeks to 36. We know that there is more to do and the Family Justice Board has agreed system-wide targets for 2025/26 and these are focused on increasing the proportion of public law cases concluded within the statutory 26-week timeframe and closing the longest running cases in both private and public law. To support this, Cheshire and Merseyside is a designated Trailblazer area, developing and testing targeted solutions to address the biggest local drivers of delays.
Our new Pathfinder courts are improving the experience and outcomes for children and parents involved in private law proceedings, and particularly those who may need additional support such as domestic abuse survivors. The pilot courts work closely with local domestic abuse agencies, including Independent Domestic Violence Advisers. The Pathfinder pilot started in February 2022 in Dorset and North Wales. It was expanded to Southeast Wales and Birmingham in 2024 and Mid and West Wales on 3 March 2025. Pathfinder will be rolled out to West Yorkshire on 3 June. Areas delivering the Pathfinder model for private family law are making significant progress in addressing delay, with the initial two pilot sites showing an 11-week reduction in average case duration and a 50% reduction in outstanding caseloads between February 2022 and November 2024.
Alongside improving how cases move through the system we need to properly support those involved. Victims of domestic abuse must receive emotional and practical support to recover and rebuild their lives. The Ministry of Justice provide Police and Crime Commissioners with annual grant funding to commission local support services. This includes ring-fenced funding for sexual violence and domestic abuse community-based services and Independent Sexual Violence and Domestic Abuse Advisors. Alongside this the Home Office runs the Flexible Fund, administered by Women’s Aid, which offers financial support to victims in specific circumstances.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps her Department is taking to ensure the adequacy of the number of specialist domestic abuse services available to assist victims during the court process in Liverpool.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
It is important that the Family Court works for children and families. That is why the Government is committed to ensuring there are adequate protections in place for users and that we improve the timeliness of cases.
I am aware that, due to the building’s architecture, layout and shared use there are issues in arranging separate entrances at Liverpool Family Court. To mitigate this, it is possible to arrange staggered arrival times, secure waiting rooms and separate exits. Special measures can be requested by contacting the court as soon as possible, ideally 5 days before the hearing. Liverpool Family Court's contact details can be found at: Liverpool Civil and Family Court - Find a Court or Tribunal - GOV.UK.
We recognise the significant impact that delay can have on children and families. We are committed to tackling backlog of cases we inherited from the previous Government and the latest published data shows progress is being made. When comparing October to December 2024 to the same period in 2023, under the previous Government, the average duration of private law cases has fallen from 45 to 42 weeks and care proceedings over the same period have fallen from 42 weeks to 36. We know that there is more to do and the Family Justice Board has agreed system-wide targets for 2025/26 and these are focused on increasing the proportion of public law cases concluded within the statutory 26-week timeframe and closing the longest running cases in both private and public law. To support this, Cheshire and Merseyside is a designated Trailblazer area, developing and testing targeted solutions to address the biggest local drivers of delays.
Our new Pathfinder courts are improving the experience and outcomes for children and parents involved in private law proceedings, and particularly those who may need additional support such as domestic abuse survivors. The pilot courts work closely with local domestic abuse agencies, including Independent Domestic Violence Advisers. The Pathfinder pilot started in February 2022 in Dorset and North Wales. It was expanded to Southeast Wales and Birmingham in 2024 and Mid and West Wales on 3 March 2025. Pathfinder will be rolled out to West Yorkshire on 3 June. Areas delivering the Pathfinder model for private family law are making significant progress in addressing delay, with the initial two pilot sites showing an 11-week reduction in average case duration and a 50% reduction in outstanding caseloads between February 2022 and November 2024.
Alongside improving how cases move through the system we need to properly support those involved. Victims of domestic abuse must receive emotional and practical support to recover and rebuild their lives. The Ministry of Justice provide Police and Crime Commissioners with annual grant funding to commission local support services. This includes ring-fenced funding for sexual violence and domestic abuse community-based services and Independent Sexual Violence and Domestic Abuse Advisors. Alongside this the Home Office runs the Flexible Fund, administered by Women’s Aid, which offers financial support to victims in specific circumstances.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps she is taking to the reduce the time taken for domestic abuse cases to reach family courts in (a) the North West and (b) Liverpool.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
It is important that the Family Court works for children and families. That is why the Government is committed to ensuring there are adequate protections in place for users and that we improve the timeliness of cases.
I am aware that, due to the building’s architecture, layout and shared use there are issues in arranging separate entrances at Liverpool Family Court. To mitigate this, it is possible to arrange staggered arrival times, secure waiting rooms and separate exits. Special measures can be requested by contacting the court as soon as possible, ideally 5 days before the hearing. Liverpool Family Court's contact details can be found at: Liverpool Civil and Family Court - Find a Court or Tribunal - GOV.UK.
We recognise the significant impact that delay can have on children and families. We are committed to tackling backlog of cases we inherited from the previous Government and the latest published data shows progress is being made. When comparing October to December 2024 to the same period in 2023, under the previous Government, the average duration of private law cases has fallen from 45 to 42 weeks and care proceedings over the same period have fallen from 42 weeks to 36. We know that there is more to do and the Family Justice Board has agreed system-wide targets for 2025/26 and these are focused on increasing the proportion of public law cases concluded within the statutory 26-week timeframe and closing the longest running cases in both private and public law. To support this, Cheshire and Merseyside is a designated Trailblazer area, developing and testing targeted solutions to address the biggest local drivers of delays.
Our new Pathfinder courts are improving the experience and outcomes for children and parents involved in private law proceedings, and particularly those who may need additional support such as domestic abuse survivors. The pilot courts work closely with local domestic abuse agencies, including Independent Domestic Violence Advisers. The Pathfinder pilot started in February 2022 in Dorset and North Wales. It was expanded to Southeast Wales and Birmingham in 2024 and Mid and West Wales on 3 March 2025. Pathfinder will be rolled out to West Yorkshire on 3 June. Areas delivering the Pathfinder model for private family law are making significant progress in addressing delay, with the initial two pilot sites showing an 11-week reduction in average case duration and a 50% reduction in outstanding caseloads between February 2022 and November 2024.
Alongside improving how cases move through the system we need to properly support those involved. Victims of domestic abuse must receive emotional and practical support to recover and rebuild their lives. The Ministry of Justice provide Police and Crime Commissioners with annual grant funding to commission local support services. This includes ring-fenced funding for sexual violence and domestic abuse community-based services and Independent Sexual Violence and Domestic Abuse Advisors. Alongside this the Home Office runs the Flexible Fund, administered by Women’s Aid, which offers financial support to victims in specific circumstances.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the level of support available to domestic abuse victims and their children in the Family Court system.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
Family courts have various tools available to protect participants. Courts have the power to prohibit the cross-examination of domestic abuse survivors by their abusers. Victims of domestic abuse are automatically considered to be vulnerable when the court is determining whether to make special measures, such as allowing someone to give evidence by video link, or from behind a screen. The Family Procedure Rules and Practice Directions allow for Independent Domestic Violence Advisers and Independent Sexual Violence Advisers to accompany parties in the courtroom.
Central to the Department’s commitment to reform the family justice system is the rollout of the Pathfinder pilot. This innovative court model uses a less adversarial approach for private law children proceedings and is operating in Dorset, North Wales, Birmingham and South-East Wales. The pilot courts work closely with local domestic abuse agencies, including Independent Domestic Violence Advisers, to ensure that specialist support and domestic abuse risk assessments are in place. We are committed to expanding the pilot so that more people can benefit from this approach.
Evaluation of the pilot is ongoing and involves seeking the views of both parent and child victims of domestic abuse to understand how the support available in the Pathfinder model has impacted their experiences. This evaluation will be published once it is completed.
On 27 November, the Government also begun piloting a new Domestic Abuse Protection Order (DAPO) in selected areas. This new order is available across family, civil and criminal courts and brings together the strongest features from current protective orders into a single more comprehensive order. DAPOs can offer more tailored protection to victims and place greater sanctions on a perpetrator.
Nov. 28 2024
Source Page: New measures to protect victims of domestic abuseFound: Stronger protections for victims of all domestic abuse under new orders New powers to police and
Asked by: Caroline Voaden (Liberal Democrat - South Devon)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps she is taking to help ensure that victims of domestic abuse are supported through the family courts system.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Government recognises the impact family court proceedings can have on children and adult survivors of domestic abuse which is why we are is committed to halving incidences of violence against women and girls; reforming the family justice system so that victims of domestic abuse are supported is key to this.
The courts hearing family proceedings have the power to prohibit the cross-examination of domestic abuse survivors by their abusers. Victims of domestic abuse are automatically considered to be vulnerable when the court is determining whether to make special measures, such as allowing someone to give evidence by video link, or from behind a screen. The Family Procedure Rules and Practice Directions allow for Independent Domestic Violence Advisers and Independent Sexual Violence Advisers to accompany parties in the courtroom.
Central to the Department’s work on reforming the family justice system is the Pathfinder pilot. This entirely reformed court model uses a more investigative and less adversarial approach for private law proceedings relating to children and is currently operating in Dorset, North Wales, Birmingham and South-East Wales. The pilot seeks to improve the experiences of children and families in proceedings, in particular for survivors of domestic abuse, and reduce re-traumatisation. At the heart of this model is closer multiagency working which has led to improved communication, greater consistency in information and multi-disciplinary training. The pilot courts work closely with the specialist domestic abuse sector including Independent Domestic Abuse Advisers to ensure that adequate domestic abuse risk assessments and support is in place. We are exploring options for further rollout to ensure that more people can benefit from this approach.
Mar. 05 2025
Source Page: Greater protection for domestic abuse victims in ClevelandFound: Clamp down on domestic abuse extended to Cleveland Hundreds more victims to benefit from stronger
Mar. 05 2025
Source Page: Greater protection for domestic abuse victims in ClevelandFound: Clamp down on domestic abuse extended to Cleveland Hundreds more victims to benefit from stronger
Written Evidence Mar. 17 2025
Committee: Public Accounts CommitteeFound: visitation/parental rights, to perpetuate domestic violence and abuse (DVA) and vicarious violence1
Apr. 28 2025
Source Page: Greater protection for domestic abuse victims in North WalesFound: Clamp down on domestic abuse extended to North Wales Hundreds more victims to benefit from stronger