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    Transparency Pilot expanded to include private family law cases

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    The Transparency pilot in a select number of family courts has been extended to now allow accredited journalists and legal bloggers to report on what they see and hear in private law cases, including children matters. This is another significant step in enhancing transparency within the family justice system and building trust and confidence.

    Background to the pilot
    The pilot was originally launched by the Family Division’s Transparency Implementation Group in January 2023, initially in three courts, Leeds, Cardiff and Carlisle. The media were able to report on certain public law cases, within specific regulations and under anonymity rules. In January 2024, after a ‘pioneering year of reporting’, the scheme was extended to sixteen further courts, including Liverpool, Milton Keynes and Dorset. In addition, private law cases were opened to the media in the original three courts.
    The Transparency Pilot aims to improve trust in the court system, and by encouraging journalists to witness cases, the hope was that journalists would use their rights to raise public awareness of the workings of the family courts.
    Although there have been concerns about the potential discomfort the presence of journalists could cause to families going through a court case, the pilot is being carefully monitored by the Transparency Implementation Group, with strict anonymity rules.
    The pilot has already seen significant successes and coverage, including a mini-series on BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme, the Press Association, BBC news, the Sunday Times, and the Guardian, to name just a few. In after the first year, President of the Family Division Sir Andrew McFarlane hailed the pilot as a ‘pioneering year of reporting’.
    Extension July 2024
    As of 15th July 2024, the pilot has been extended to now allow reporters access to private law cases, including children matters, in the latter sixteen courts. The control measures remain in place, and reporting is at the judge’s discretion, and if permitted, will be under a Transparency Order, protecting families and specifically children.
    The judiciary is committed to fostering a better understanding of the family justice system and improving confidence in it. The pilot aims to provide insight into the handling of public and private law cases, considering that one of the biggest barriers to people seeking legal help is the misinformation around court and legal processes. More

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      in Family Law

      Pathfinder Pilot Scheme Expanded

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      Background and Purpose
      In March 2022, a pioneering pilot scheme, known as the Pathfinder pilot, was launched in some family courts in Dorset and North Wales to help improve information sharing between services such as the police and local authorities and the courts. It followed on from a review into the family justice system which concluded that the adversarial processes often worsened conflict between parents, retraumatising abuse victims and children.
      A crucial element of the Pathfinder pilot scheme is to enable local domestic abuse authorities to share important information with the courts, sparing abuse victims the painful process of retelling their experiences multiple times.
      In addition, the pilot aimed to ensure that children are listened to at every stage of the family justice process when going through their parents’ separation. Children were to be given more opportunity to explain their feelings, what they want and, should a court order be made, to feedback on whether it was working for them.
      How the Pathfinder Pilot works
      The Pathfinder pilot was launched in Bournemouth and Weymouth in Dorset, as well as Caernarfon, Mold, Prestatyn and Wrexham in North Wales initially.
      The piloted model involves more detailed initial investigations being carried out by the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service (Cafcass), an independent body advising family courts on what is safe for children in family law processes. In most cases, this has involved speaking to the children involved in cases before the first hearing even takes place.
      Furthermore, the pilot has introduced a better integration system between agencies, such as domestic abuse organisations, and organisations specialising in mediation, and the courts, in order to best serve the families.
      The process involves:

      An early ‘gatekeeping’ hearing to look at the information
      Cafcass investigate any welfare issues and identify whether the family might benefit from another form of dispute resolution and can avoid court
      Cafcass will speak directly with the family and identify any families which have a domestic abuse risk
      Where appropriate, Cafcass will also speak with children early on in this process to understand their feelings and wishes

      The aim is for Cafcass to help families avoid court entirely, or, where this is not possible, to find a solution at the first hearing. The judge then reviews all the information and can request further documentation before the case reaches court.
      The idea has been to encourage a less adversarial process, keeping conflict out of the courtroom, and emphasising the investigation of issues, including allegations of domestic abuse.
      The Future of the Pilot
      The initial phase of the pilot reached its conclusion in February 2024. It has been announced that it will be expanded to two further locations, Birmingham and South-East Wales, before a national roll out.
      Phase 2 is due to launch in May 2024.
      Stowe Family Law Partner Rachel Fisher said this of the news that the pilot has been extended:
      “It is a really exciting development to see the expansion of the Pathfinder Pilot following the end of Phase 1 with the scheme now been expanded to South East Wales and Birmingham before hopefully a national rollout and the feedback reported has been extremely positive.
      This new Cafcass process is welcomed by professionals and families as a streamlined process with less delays for children who are at the centre of these disputes. The aim of the Pathfinder Pilot is to ensure that the voice of the children involved in each case is heard and to ensure that trauma to children and victims of domestic abuse is reduced as far as possible, which can only be in the children’s best interests.
      It is positive that the Pilot is being extended so that more families can benefit from the process which sees the court actively working with other local organisations and agencies to ensure matters are progressed promptly and with all the information being available to the court at an early stage through the in depth information gathering exercise at the outset by Cafcass to support a problem-solving approach to resolving arrangements for children.”
      In addition, the Government recently announced a pilot, due to launch in summer 2024, trialling a scheme publicly funded early legal advice for parents/carers. This advice will allow parents to make better informed decisions regarding their children when it comes to separation.
      The pilot aims to help separating parents resolve disputes without court intervention. The Pathfinder pilot will be important for those cases which do get to court. More