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Charity calls on government to speed up family court processes
Mon 09 Aug 2010
The government has been urged to make sure that any cases involving children in family courts are dealt with in less than 30 weeks.
According to children's charity Barnardo's, courts can often take up to 65 weeks to rule that a child can safely live with their parents.
The group stated that these delays often have a damaging effect on extremely vulnerable children, as a year is a very long time for them to be either at risk or "trapped in desperate limbo".
It has therefore called on the government to implement a "radical" culture shift in court practice.
Aside from ensuring cases are concluded within seven months, it has also suggested that all court staff be given training so they understand how any delay can impact on a child's development.
Barnardo's also noted that the length of time it takes to conclude these cases varies by a "staggering" amount across the UK, as it takes an average of 65 weeks to reach a decision in London.
This compares with 46 weeks in Humber and South Yorkshire.
Carol Ellinas, a partner at Winckworth Sherwood Solicitors, commented: "The Barnardo's report is concerned with court decisions which involve the removal of children from their families and is a direct response to the Baby Peter case.
"However, it is also accepted that it takes too long to get a private children application listed, for example when a court is asked to determine which parent a child should live with, or whether a parent should be given leave to remove a child from the jurisdiction.
"The parents have to wait many months before their application comes to court, not just because of the lack of court time but also where a professional report is required by the court from a children's expert.
"These experts often have too great a workload and simply cannot do all the work necessary to prepare a report in time.
"There has also been recent criticism that valuable court time is being taken up by divorce cases which should be commenced in other countries but because one party thinks they can get a better settlement in the UK they issue here."
