Legal aid cuts undo families revamp say lawyers

Responding yesterday to the most comprehensive report on the family justice system for more than 20 years under the chairmanship of David Norgrove, the Law Society said the welfare of children should be at the heart of the system and current court delays were a “national disgrace”.

“The report’s recommendations will need study and action by all parts of the system – judges, lawyer, social workers, guardians and by the Government too, because many of these changes will need resourcing,” said Desmond Hudson, Law Society Chief Executive. “Even in these straightened times, the Government has to find the money.”

But he warned: “Legal aid cuts will lead to more people going to court unrepresented and family courts slowing down even further.”

The review called for parents to be encouraged to develop a parenting agreement “to set out arrangements for the care of their children post-separation” to help eliminate disputes.

Courts should only be used as a last resort, it said, with divorcing parents encouraged to use mediation. It called for the Government to develop a child arrangements order, which would set out plans for the upbringing of a child when a court is required to get involved, and said court cases should be restricted to six months.

The Bar Council welcomed the key proposals but said at the same time the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill was proposing to remove family law almost in its entirety from the scope of legal aid.

Campaigners also described the failure to give parents equal rights to share custody as a “betrayal of children and their families.”

Nadine O’Connor, of Fathers 4 Justice said the review was “a monstrous sham and a bureaucratic exercise in improving the efficiency of injustice.”

Downing Street stressed that Mr Norgrove’s report was “independent” and insisted the coalition was “committed” to shared parenting after separation.

The Government will consider the detail of the recommendations “in due course”, a spokeswoman said.

She added: “The Government is already implementing some elements of the report, including a stronger focus on mediation for separating parents.

“In terms of where we stand, we are committed to transforming the family justice system,”