Fixing Family Courts

Chair: Baroness Kitching; Aide; Cllr Nick da Costa (Chair, FCC); Hall Aide; Duncan Brack

Motion as passed by conference

Submitted by: 12 Party Members. 
Mover: Jess Brown-Fuller MP (Spokesperson for Justice) 
Summation: To be announced.

Conference notes that:

1. Private law proceedings, which are between parents or family members about child arrangements, were reviewed by the 2020 Harm Panel, but many of its 72 recommendations remain unimplemented.
2. The Family Court Reporting and Reform Mechanism (FCRRM) pilot, in 2024, found that the structural problems identified by the Harm Panel – pro-contact culture, adversarialism, lack of resources, and siloed working – remain widespread.
3. FCRRM data also indicated that domestic abuse is present in 73 per cent of hearings and identified in 87 per cent of case file reviews.
4. In July 2026, the Government introduced new rules requiring expert witnesses in children's court cases to be regulated.
5. Lack of legal aid and provider shortages mean at least one party is unrepresented in around 81% of private law cases.
6. The ‘Child Focused Courts’ model, currently operating in 10 court areas across England and Wales ahead of a planned national rollout, has been described by the President of the Family Division as “far more successful than even its most ardent supporters would have anticipated.”
7. In March 2026, the Government announced plans to remove the presumption of parental involvement through the Courts and Tribunals Bill.

Conference further notes that:

1. Public law proceedings, brought by local authorities over child protection concerns, have not been the subject of a recent comprehensive review comparable to private law.
2. The 26-week statutory timetable for public law cases has never been consistently met since its introduction in 2014.
3. Around 32 per cent of public law cases have at least one hearing cancelled before it takes place, contributing to delays and wasted resources.
4. Legal representation is also an issue in public law cases, with over a quarter of parties unrepresented in some areas of England and Wales due to provider capacity constraints.

Conference believes that:

1. The previous Conservative Government’s mismanagement of the justice system caused delays in family courts to spiral, letting down children and their families.
2. Under the current Labour Government, private law proceedings continue to under-recognise domestic abuse and coercive control, with serious consequences.
3. Meaningful reform of both private and public law requires full implementation of expert recommendations, improved access to data on system performance and proper resourcing of the family justice system and legal aid.

Conference calls on the Government to:

1. Improve private law proceedings by:
   1. Completing the national rollout of Child Focused Courts across England and Wales by the end of this Parliament.
   2. Commissioning an independent review of the implementation of the Harm Panel’s 72 recommendations.
   3. Working with the Judiciary to ensure family judiciary, magistrates, Child and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass) officers and experts in private law proceedings have specialist training in domestic abuse.
   4. Establishing a statutory regulator for therapists.
2. Address data gaps across private and public law proceedings by:
   1. Rolling out the FCRRM for private law proceedings.
   2. Commissioning the Ministry of Justice and Department for Education, with His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service, Cafcass, local authorities and the judiciary, to develop a joined-up data strategy to improve family court data collection.
   3. Establishing an anonymisation unit to support with the publication of anonymised family court judgements.
3. Expand legal aid eligibility and address legal aid deserts in family law, including by:
   1. Reviewing and uprating annually the legal aid means test threshold for victims of domestic abuse, and disregarding joint assets where there is evidence of economic coercion.
   2. Extending the December 2025 legal aid fee increases for housing and immigration cases to family law.
4. Ensure that the Family Justice Board's upcoming Family Justice Strategy addresses inefficiencies and regional capacity constraints, is focused on delivering welfare outcomes for children and their families, and contains a timeline for implementation with clear milestones and mandatory progress reporting to allow effective scrutiny.

Applicability: England and Wales

Motion prior to amendment

Submitted by: 12 Party Members. 
Mover: Jess Brown-Fuller MP (Spokesperson for Justice) 
Summation: To be announced.

Conference notes that:

1. Private law proceedings, which are between parents or family members about child arrangements, were reviewed by the 2020 Harm Panel, but many of its 72 recommendations remain unimplemented.
2. The Family Court Reporting and Reform Mechanism (FCRRM) pilot, in 2024, found that the structural problems identified by the Harm Panel – pro-contact culture, adversarialism, lack of resources, and siloed working – remain widespread.
3. FCRRM data also indicated that domestic abuse is present in 73 per cent of hearings and identified in 87 per cent of case file reviews.
4. Family courts permit evidence from unregulated therapists, raising concerns particularly in cases involving allegations of parental alienation.
5. The ‘Pathfinder’ model, now operating in over 20 English courts and all Welsh family courts, has been described by the President of the Family Division as “more radical, and far more successful, than even its most ardent supporters would have anticipated”.
6. In March 2026, the Government announced plans to remove the presumption of parental involvement through the Courts and Tribunals Bill.

Conference further notes that:

1. Public law proceedings, brought by local authorities over child welfare concerns, have not been the subject of a recent comprehensive review comparable to private law.
2. The 26-week statutory timetable for public law cases has never been consistently met since its introduction in 2014.
3. Around 32 per cent of public law cases have at least one hearing cancelled before it takes place, contributing to delays and wasted resources.

Conference believes that:

1. The previous Conservative Government’s mismanagement of the justice system caused delays in family courts to spiral, letting down children and their families.
2. Under the current Labour Government, private law proceedings continue to under-recognise domestic abuse and coercive control, with serious consequences.
3. Meaningful reform of both private and public law requires full implementation of expert recommendations, improved access to data on system performance and proper resourcing of the family justice system.

Conference calls on the Government to:

1. Improve private law proceedings by:
   1. Completing the national rollout of Pathfinder Courts across England and Wales by the end of this Parliament.
   2. Commissioning an independent review of the implementation of the Harm Panel’s 72 recommendations.
   3. Working with the Judiciary to ensure family judiciary, magistrates, Child and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass) officers and experts in private law proceedings have specialist training in domestic abuse.
   4. Establishing a statutory regulator for therapists.
2. Address data gaps across private and public law proceedings by:
   1. Rolling out the FCRRM for private law proceedings.
   2. Commissioning the Ministry of Justice and Department for Education, with His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service, Cafcass, local authorities and the judiciary, to develop a joined-up data strategy to improve family court data collection.
   3. Establishing an anonymisation unit to publish anonymised family court judgements.
3. Commission the Family Justice Board to develop a national improvement plan, underpinned by a system-wide assessment of inefficiencies and regional capacity constraints.

Applicability: England and Wales

The Conference Committee agreed to make the following drafting amendments to the motion:

Delete lines 14-21 and insert:

1. In July 2026, the Government introduced new rules requiring expert witnesses in children's court cases to be regulated.
2. The ‘Child Focused Courts’ model, currently operating in 10 court areas across England and Wales ahead of a planned national rollout, has been described by the President of the Family Division as “far more successful than even its most ardent supporters would have anticipated.”

In line 27, delete 'child welfare concerns' and insert 'child protection concerns.'

In line 47, delete ‘Pathfinder Courts’ and insert ‘Child Focused Courts.’

Delete line 58.

In line 67, delete ‘publish’ and insert ‘support with the publication of…’.

Amendment One

PASSED 

Submitted by: North Cornwall
Mover: Ben Maguire MP (Shadow Attorney General)
Summation: To be announced

After line 13, insert new clause iv):  

1. Lack of legal aid and provider shortages mean at least one party is unrepresented in around 81% of private law cases.

After line 33, insert new clause IV.: 

1. Legal representation is also an issue in public law cases, with over a quarter of parties unrepresented in some areas of England and Wales due to provider capacity constraints.

In line 44 after ‘family justice system’ insert ‘and legal aid.’

After line 68, insert new 3.:

1. Expand legal aid eligibility and address legal aid deserts in family law, including by:
   1. Reviewing and uprating annually the legal aid means test threshold for victims of domestic abuse, and disregarding joint assets where there is evidence of economic coercion.
   2. Extending the December 2025 legal aid fee increases for housing and immigration cases to family law.

Amendment Two

PASSED

Submitted by: 12 members 
Mover: To be announced
Summation: To be announced

Delete lines 69-72 and insert: 

1. Ensure that the Family Justice Board's upcoming Family Justice Strategy addresses inefficiencies and regional capacity constraints, is focused on delivering welfare outcomes for children and their families, and contains a timeline for implementation with clear milestones and mandatory progress reporting to allow effective scrutiny.