The President of the Family Division, Sir Andrew McFarlane, announced the launch of a further consultation on remote and hybrid hearings in the Family Court.
The consultation will run until tomorrow 30 September (the judiciary website suggests 1st October). Don't miss your chance to share your experience. A report is expected in mid-October.
This further research project will again be undertaken by The Nuffield Family Justice Observatory (Nuffield FJO), an independent organisation which is committed to improving life for children and families by putting data and evidence at the heart of the Family Justice system. The Nuffield Family Justice Observatory carried out a rapid consultation about remote hearings in the family court in April 2020 and received feedback from over 1000 parents, carers and professionals. The subsequent report provided many helpful and informative suggestions for good practice which were welcomed by the President of the Family Division.
It is now clear that while some physical hearings are taking place, social distancing will continue to apply. Many hearings continue to take place over video links or by phone and will, for many more months to come. The system is still adjusting to these changes and challenges of the backlog of cases and there are many concerns, that we share, that delays that were unaceptable and not on a child-appropriate timescale prior to the coronavirus pandemic are now even greater and damaging.
If you have not seen this already on our social media, the survey is due to close in a day or two so take part today!
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