With the UK family court in crisis amid a huge backlog of cases, there’s a big debate over whether Legal Aid should be restored to family law cases to ease court congestion. President of the Law Society of England and Wales, I. Stephanie Boyce, recently spoke out publicly about Legal Aid being restored. So, what’s the feeling?
The feeling is one of a resounding ‘yes’ Legal Aid should be restored for family law cases, with the overriding argument being that many people simply cannot afford to pay privately for a family lawyer to represent them in court. However, there’s an argument that Legal Aid is a huge burden on the British taxpayer.
Back in 2014, when Legal Aid cuts were first announced, the then Ministry of Justice revealed that Legal Aid cost the UK taxpayer nearly £2 billion a year and described Legal Aid as one of the most expensive systems of its kind in the world.
Family court statistics
However, between July and September 2021 alone, 63,084 new family law cases were logged adding to a growing backlog in the UK family courts as more people bring their cases to court without first seeking specialist legal advice.
Commenting on family court congestion, I. Stephanie Boyce said: “We have repeatedly said that early legal advice for family law cases – cut by the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act (LASPO) in 2013 – should be restored.”
“Cases often go to court unnecessarily because the parties are unrepresented – acting as Litigants in Person (LiPs) – and have not been steered towards negotiation and mediation,” she added.
The case for Legal Aid to be restored for family law cases
Ms Boyce’s argument is a good one, with more family law cases directed toward mediation and negotiation, the fewer number of cases there would be in court. Instead more cases would be resolved through negotiated settlements and mediation.
Plus, client expectations can be better managed to prevent them from taking family law cases to court when there is no basis.
However, to make this happen, a lot hinges on restoring Legal Aid to help people with family law issues pay for advice they badly need to understand that there are other options outside of court.
More importantly, the welfare of children will be made the primary focus in family law cases if Legal Aid was restored.
How can Legal Aid in family law cases be restored and what’s eligible?
The Law Society has said that it has a number of practical plans to bring Legal Aid back for family law cases and says that Legal Aid should be available in the following family cases for:
- Early legal advice
- Alleged perpetrators and victims of domestic abuse, up to the point of a fact-finding hearing and Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass) report
- Cases involving Special Guardianship Orders (SGOs)
- Finance cases
Ms Boyce said: “It is vital that proper data is collected on LiPs to better understand how lack of legal representation for the public can impact the operation of the justice system. The present data we have is poor.”
According to official statistics, between July and September 2021, there were 25,587 divorce petitions filed, with divorce and matrimonial cases down 15%, while domestic violence cases were down 8%, compared to 2020.
Meanwhile, the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass) received 12,786 care applications between April 2020 and March 2021, 2.39% lower compared with the previous year.
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