Domestic Abuse Commissioner welcomes government commitment to “strengthen the voice of the child” but warns of “urgent” need for reform

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has responded to a report by the Domestic Abuse Commissioner, Nicole Jacobs, on reform in the Family Court, accepting only some of her 10 key recommendations.

The Commissioner has warned that without all the recommendations being accepted, “we cannot guarantee that adult and child survivors will be understood and protected in the Family Court.”

One of the key recommendations accepted by the Government was to increase the number of Pathfinder Courts in 2024.

This commitment was “strongly welcomed” by the Commissioner, who noted: “These courts take a multi-agency and child-centric approach to domestic abuse, and feedback has shown that cases are being dealt with more sensitively and efficiently than in the traditional Family Court. This will have a hugely positive impact on survivors.”

The Government revealed that it “remains committed” to ensuring that the voices of children and young people are heard in its policy development and national priority work.

The Government also agreed to provide further funding of £180,000 in 2023/24 for the Family Court Reporting and Review Mechanism (FCRRM) project.

The FCRRM, which is in its pilot phase, will grant the Domestic Abuse Commissioner “unprecedented access” to the Family Court in order to collect data on the prevalence of domestic abuse.

However, the Commissioner’s recommendation to implement a stricter definition of the term ‘psychologist’ was rejected by the government. The Ministry of Justice noted that the family court is moving away from psychological assessments and “instead focussing on the facts of the individual case”.

The government also rejected the recommendation to establish multi-agency Domestic Abuse Best Practice Leads. While recognising that improved collaboration and sharing of best practice will “enhance standards and improve consistency”, the government shared concerns about how it could be successful in practice “given the broad span of responsibilities proposed by the Commissioner”.

The Government instead proposed to introduce a Domestic Abuse Champions network to focus on sharing best practice, feeding into training and championing local and national initiatives – something which the Commissioner described as “a step in the right direction”.

The Domestic Abuse Commissioner’s report highlighted how the lack of availability of legal aid leaves many survivors without access to a lawyer during Family Court proceedings.

However, its recommendation to remove the legal aid means test for survivors in private family law proceedings was not accepted by government.

The Commissioner noted: “It is also concerning that the Qualified Legal Representative (QLR) scheme, which provides registered legal practitioners to conduct cross-examination for unrepresented parties, will not be fully funded.”

The report also made recommendations to improve domestic abuse support and awareness in the Family Court, designed to ensure survivors feel safe throughout the process. These were: specialist domestic abuse support workers for survivors during proceedings; and better funding to train the judiciary.

While recognising the importance of victims of domestic abuse having access to support whilst going through the family court, the government did not accept the recommendations.

The government said: “Whilst we await the evaluation into the Pathfinder pilots, we will continue to explore how we can improve access to support for victims and survivors of domestic abuse going through the family court”.

Responding to this, the Domestic Abuse Commissioner said: “I worry that this will deepen the lack of domestic abuse expertise and consistency that exists within the Family Court system.

“I hope the government will consider the need for domestic abuse roles within the Family Court during the passage of the Victims & Prisoners Bill, which presents a key opportunity to shape funding for specialist services.”

The Commissioner noted that her report highlighted “significant failings” which require “significant reforms”.

She added: “I look forward to continuing work with government to advance my bold vision for the Family Court and bring about the full transformation that is urgently needed.”

Lottie Winson