Law Society welcomes
Government commitment to speed up care
proceedings
The Law Society has welcomed the
Government's announcement today of its commitment to speed up care
and supervision proceedings, but warned that this would not be
achieved simply by introducing new deadlines.
Law Society Chief Executive Desmond Hudson said:
'We agree with the Government
that reducing delays in care proceedings is crucial, and welcome
its commitment to provide the necessary legislative impetus for
change.
“This should not come at the expense of the welfare of the
children who are caught-up in the court system. To effectively
halve the time which cases take now will require additional
resources - but court facilities are being closed and the
number of solicitors available to help families is likely to reduce
in the wake of legal aid cuts.
“For a statutory six month
time limit to be realistic, other measures will have to be put
in place including:
More efficient use of
experts
More specialist family judges,
to provide judicial continuity
More time for guardians to spend
in ascertaining and representing the child's views
A different attitude and
approach to the conduct of child care proceedings”
Ends
Note to Editors
In 1991, when the Children Act
1989 came into force, it was expected that care proceedings would
take on average 12 weeks for the courts to deal with. This
has risen to 56 weeks. These delays affect more than 20,000
children.
Legislation on a six-month time
limit which can be extended by a judge in certain circumstances is
expected to be introduced in 2013, and to come into force in
2014.
The Law Society is the
independent professional body, established for solicitors in 1825,
that works globally to support and represent its members, promoting
the highest professional standards and the rule of law.
Contact: Catherine Reed, The Law
Society
+44 (0)20 7320 5902