Family Justice Review

Interim Report - April 2011

Author:

Ministry of Justice (MoJ)

Publisher:

TSO (The Stationery Office)

Price: £38.50

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The legal framework of family justice in England and Wales is strong. Its principles are right, in particular the starting point that the welfare of children must be paramount. Every year 500,000 parents and children are involved in the system, but it is under great strain.

The 'Family Justice Review' details a number of problems with the system:

• cases take far too long (the average case took 53 weeks in 2010);

• too many private law disputes end up in court;

• lack of coherence;

• there is growing mistrust leading to layers of checking and scrutiny;

• little mutual learning or feedback; and

• a worrying lack of IT and management information.

The Review's recommendations aim to:

• bring greater coherence through organisational change and better management;

• make the system more able to cope with current and future pressures;

• reduce duplication of scrutiny to the appropriate level; and

• to divert more issues away from the courts.

The chapters of the review cover: the current system; the proposed Family Justice Service; public law; private law; financial implications and implementation; and there are eighteen annexes. The proposals are now out for consultation, with the final report due in autumn 2011.

Extent	227 pages	ISBN	9780108510557
Size	A4	Price	£38.50
Format	Paperback	Published	01 Apr 2011
Availability	Colour copy: 3 - 5 days	Delivery	Delivery options and charges