News
All the news items published on Family Law Week this year are listed below. You can browse our news archive using the folders on the left.
- Parliamentary debate on Adoption and Children (Coronavirus) (Amendment) Regulations 2020
News (05/06/2020) - Human Fertilisation and Embryology (Statutory Storage Period for Embryos and Gametes) (Coronavirus) Regulations 2020
Judgments (05/06/2020) - Legal Aid Agency to assess bills
News (05/06/2020)
Transfer date to be agreed with HM Courts and Tribunals Service - President’s amended Guidance on Allocation and Gatekeeping for Care, Supervision and other Proceedings
News (05/06/2020) - FGM attendances: January - March 2020
News (05/06/2020) - Attending family court protocol published by Cafcass
News (05/06/2020) - Domestic Abuse Bill Committee stage begins 4 June 2020
News (28/05/2020) - New public law cases received by Cafcass fell almost 9 per cent in April
News (28/05/2020) - New private law cases received by Cafcass in April 27 per cent lower than 2019
News (28/05/2020) - General guidance on PDF bundles
News (28/05/2020) - Refuge reports further increase in demand for its Domestic Abuse Helpline services
News (27/05/2020)
950 per cent increase in visits to website during lockdown - The Remote Family Access Family Court – what have we learnt so far
News (27/05/2020)
Speech by Mr Justice MacDonald - Revised standard orders announced by Mr Justice Mostyn
News (27/05/2020)
Orders Nos 1.1, 1.2, 2.1, and 2.2 revised - Hague Convention Permanent Bureau develops COVID-19 Toolkit
News (17/05/2020) - Bristol family lawyers stage mock remote FDR
News (17/05/2020)
Event watched by almost 200 judges and practitioners - Outcomes for children looked after by local authorities
News (17/05/2020) - Separated families and contact with children in care during coronavirus lockdown: FAQs
News (17/05/2020) - CPS clarifies approach to stalking offences under coronavirus lockdown
News (17/05/2020) - London Mayor joins forces with survivors and campaigners in campaign against FGM
News (17/05/2020)
£1.3m invested in services for women affected by FGM in London - Funding for safe accommodation of domestic abuse victims during coronavirus lockdown
News (17/05/2020) - Tackling domestic abuse during the COVID-19 pandemic: Local Government Association
News (17/05/2020) - Draft guidance on transparency should be published this summer, says President
News (17/05/2020) - Lord Wilson of Culworth retires as a Supreme Court Justice
News (10/05/2020)
Lord Reed pays tribute to his work - Family Court determines case involving pre-nup and bankrupt spouse
News (10/05/2020) - Guidance updated for submitting a new divorce case online
News (10/05/2020) - Article 39 threatens legal action over loss of legal protections for children in care
News (10/05/2020)
'Adoption and Children (Coronavirus)(Amendment) Regulations 2020 remove or weaken 65 children’s safeguards' - Family Justice Council: applications invited from Justices’ Clerks/Assistant Justices’ Clerks and Paediatricians
News (10/05/2020) - Cases reported to Forced Marriage Unit rose by 13 per cent in 2018
News (07/05/2020)
1,507 cases reported - President of the Family Division welcomes Nuffield report into effectiveness of remote hearings during COVID-19
News (07/05/2020) - Children’s Commissioner creates local area profiles of child vulnerability during Covid-19
News (26/04/2020)
‘Much of child vulnerability is hidden from sight under lockdown’ - Domestic Abuse Bill second reading scheduled for 28 April 2020
News (24/04/2020) - Adoption and Children (Coronavirus) (Amendment) Regulations 2020
News (24/04/2020)
Amendments made to assist the children’s social care sector during the coronavirus pandemic - Legal aid evidence requirements for domestic abuse victims relaxed
News (24/04/2020) - President of the Family Division considers the appropriateness of a remote hearing
News (24/04/2020) - Victims’ Commissioner and Domestic Abuse Commissioner call for Government to bring empty hotel rooms into use
News (19/04/2020) - Guidance as to the replacement of affidavits with statements of truth in non-contentious probate processes
News (19/04/2020)
President of the Family Division’s Guidance - Remote Access Family Court - version 4
News (19/04/2020) - New public law cases received by Cafcass fell 9 per cent in March
News (17/04/2020) - New private law cases received by Cafcass in March 15 per cent lower than 2019
News (17/04/2020) - Legal Aid Agency: Updated coronavirus (COVID-19) information
News (17/04/2020) - Marriage rate for opposite-sex couples in 2017 lowest on record
News (17/04/2020)
Only 22 per cent of all marriages were religious ceremonies - Trial by Skype
News (17/04/2020) - Conducting international casework during the COVID-19 pandemic
News (17/04/2020)
Interim guidance from Children and Families Across Borders - Coronavirus: Domestic abuse
News (04/04/2020) - Select Committee examines impact of COVID-19 on education and children’s services
News (04/04/2020) - Victims’ Commissioner publishes new report on domestic abuse
News (04/04/2020)
Report explores overlap between children’s experience of domestic abuse and their offending behaviour - Version 3 of ‘The Remote Access Family Court’ published
News (04/04/2020) - Second report of Private Law Working Group published
News (04/04/2020) - How to submit an appeal during the COVID-19 crisis
News (02/04/2020)
Message from the President of the Family Division - Domestic abuse victims may leave home to seek refuge
News (29/03/2020)
Home Secretary clarifies rules during coronavirus emergency - 2.4 million separated families in Great Britain in 2017/18
News (29/03/2020) - New domestic violence cases rose by 21 per cent last quarter
News (27/03/2020)
Total new family cases fell by 1 per cent in quarter - Family legal aid bill rises to £148 million for the last quarter
News (27/03/2020) - Coronavirus (COVID-19): Legal Aid Agency response
News (27/03/2020) - Outcomes for children looked after by local authorities in England
News (27/03/2020)
Statistics as at 31 March 2019 published - The number of children in need decreases slightly
News (27/03/2020)
399,500 children in need at 31 March 2019 - Children’s Commissioner requests safeguards to protect children’s rights during coronavirus crisis
News (27/03/2020) - Covid-19: Practice Guidance on Case Management and Mediation of International Child Abduction Proceedings
News (27/03/2020) - Coronavirus Crisis: Guidance on Compliance with Family Court Child Arrangement Orders
News (27/03/2020)
President’s Guidance - The Remote Access Family Court: COVID-19 (coronavirus)
News (27/03/2020)
Message from Mr Justice MacDonald - Updates for time limits for filing documents in the Supreme Court and JCPC
News (17/03/2020)
Lord Reed issues update - Durham Constabulary "not as effective at child protection as it could be"
News (17/03/2020)
Inspectorate discovers several problems in child protection services - Law Society cancels all face-to-face events
Articles (17/03/2020)
All events off until the end of July - Family Law Week minor disruption
News (16/03/2020)
Remote working due to Coronavirus - Coronavirus guidance for courts and tribunals
News (16/03/2020)
COVID-19 current court guidelines - Court of Appeal to live-stream family cases
News (16/03/2020)
Joint initiative by the judiciary and government to boost transparency in the justice system - LGA warns that private organisations in massive debt puts children's care at risk
News (02/03/2020)
Large numbers of children's homes potentially at risk - House of Commons Library publishes Child protection: Duties to report concerns Briefing Paper
News (02/03/2020)
Sets out current requirements regarding reporting known or suspected child abuse or neglect - Sally Cheshire appointed Interim Chair of CAFCASS board
News (01/03/2020)
Cheshire will be in office until 30 June 2020 - Domestic abuser jailed due to extended unduly lenient sentence scheme
News (01/03/2020)
24 month community order deemed too lenient - Mother awarded £400,000 in divorce for stepping back from her career
News (01/03/2020)
Solicitor awarded compensation for “relationship-generated disadvantage” - Met Police call for London schools to sign protection charter
News (24/02/2020)
Charter to protect pupils from FGM and other abuse. - Local Government Authority highlights children social care underfunding
News (24/02/2020)
Councils had to overspend by £3 billion over 5 years - House of Commons Library publishes summary of adult social care under Conservative government
News (24/02/2020)
Briefing paper provides a summary of the social care measures taken under the three Prime Ministers since the Conservative Government was first returned in 2015 - Child Abduction Accredited Solicitors List Updated
News (24/02/2020)
Official Solicitor updates accredited list - Joint call for Judge Tolson's continuing cases to be reviewed
News (23/02/2020)
130 lawyers and women's rights groups sign joint letter - Family Justice Young People’s Board Recruiting New Members
News (22/02/2020)
7-24 year olds sought to join 50 member board - New public law cases received by Cafcass rose 6 per cent in January
News (14/02/2020) - ‘Domestic Abuse Bill must guarantee anyone fleeing domestic abuse a safe home’
News (14/02/2020)
Crisis respond to domestic homicide figures for 2019 - New private law cases received by Cafcass in January 16 per cent higher than 2019
News (14/02/2020) - Increase recorded in both approved fostering households and children in foster care
News (14/02/2020)
Figures released for 1 April 2018 to 31 March 2019 - Family Procedure (Amendment) Rules 2020
News (13/02/2020) - Child Arrangements Orders: HoC Library briefings
News (13/02/2020) - Reciprocal enforcement of maintenance orders
News (13/02/2020) - Ban on under-16s being placed in unregulated accommodation proposed
News (13/02/2020)
Minimum standards to be introduced for unregulated accommodation - Two arrested for suspected FGM offences
News (09/02/2020) - ‘The public overwhelmingly supports legal aid’: Law Society survey
News (07/02/2020) - 30,700 child maintenance arrangements set up after contacting Options in last reported quarter
News (06/02/2020) - Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Bill receives second reading
News (06/02/2020)
Committee stage begins on 3 March 2020 - Quarter of adults think it very or fairly easy to identify whether a ten-year-old is being abused or neglected
News (06/02/2020) - Sex abuse in families going under the radar, say inspectorates
News (06/02/2020)
Report into ‘the multi-agency response to child sexual abuse in the family environment’ published - The Transparency Review: The President of the Family Division’s Call for Evidence
News (05/02/2020) - Closure of regional divorce centres announced
News (02/02/2020) - Birmingham man jailed for trying to force niece into marriage
News (02/02/2020) - Child Support Agency caseload continues to reduce
News (31/01/2020)
CSA live cases fell from 261,100 in June 2019 to 176,400 in September 2019 - Domestic abuse referrals to CPS and prosecutions have fallen
News (31/01/2020)
Crown Prosecution Service publish quarterly bulletin - ‘Chasm’ exists between current levels of mental health services and what children need
News (30/01/2020)
Children’s Commissioner published third annual children’s mental health briefing - Law Society publishes parliamentary briefing on Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Bill
News (29/01/2020)
Second reading scheduled for 5 February 2020 - Wales votes to end the physical punishment of children
News (29/01/2020)
New law is expected to come into force in 2022 - Family judges hearing cases involving alleged serious sexual assault should receive training
News (26/01/2020) - Building successful domestic abuse prosecutions without the victim’s support
News (26/01/2020) - 80 per cent of children in care need special educational support
News (23/01/2020) - Online divorce service for legal professionals
News (23/01/2020) - Domestic abuse perpetrator strategy would cut violent crime and protect victims
News (21/01/2020)
Organisations, police commissioners and academics call on Government to invest in perpetrator strategy - Ombudsman reminds councils of their foster carer school transport duties
News (21/01/2020) - New care applications received by Cafcass fell 3 per cent in December
News (21/01/2020) - New private law cases received by Cafcass in December 7 per cent higher than a year ago
News (21/01/2020) - High Court endorses joint drafting of family court consent orders
News (20/01/2020) - New Queen’s Counsel announced
News (19/01/2020) - Professor Judith Masson made honorary Queen’s Counsel
News (19/01/2020) - Stalking Protection Orders come into force
News (19/01/2020) - Spouses and civil partners to inherit more from intestate estates
News (17/01/2020) - Number of children looked after in England is up 4 per cent to 78,150
News (17/01/2020)
Children ceasing to be looked after due to adoption has fallen by 7 per cent - Councils urged to prioritise adoption
News (17/01/2020)
DfE issues updated advice to local authorities - Revised version of Order No 3.2 – the Search Order – issued
News (17/01/2020) - Urgent action needed to ensure children and young people can access mental health services
News (17/01/2020)
Education Policy Institute publishes Annual Report on access to CAMHS - First female justice Lady Hale retires
News (13/01/2020)
First female justice retires, Lord Reed new Supreme Court president - British Somalis Claim Racial Profiling Over FGM
News (13/01/2020)
UK Somalis say FGM figures are inaccurate - London Mayor calls for action to secure the future of undocumented young Londoners
News (10/01/2020)
107,000 children living in London without secure immigration status - £1m invested to improve London’s doctors’ skills in helping domestic violence victims
News (10/01/2020)
Funding will expand the programme across 17 London boroughs - 72 per cent of Refuge service users have experienced tech abuse
News (10/01/2020) - Vacancy with the Family Justice Council: applications invited from junior barristers
News (10/01/2020) - Government confirms extra support for Troubled Families programme
News (10/01/2020) - Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Bill receives first reading
News (09/01/2020)