By Eric King-
Judges have called for more education about how to be a parent after having to deal directly with rowing couples in family courts because of legal aid cuts. The top family court judge in England and Wales has said.
Sir Andrew McFarlane(pictured) said judges were now having to use a different skill set to interact with parents directly in a way which is different to how they interact with lawyers in the cut. He acknowledged that legal aid cuts have long been the case, and said that many many hearings could be avoided, as he called to call for a “public education programme” on how to be a parent after splitting up.
Sir McFarlane, who was called to the bar in 1977 and became a QC in 1998, took over from Sir James Mumby in July 2018. He was appointed a recorder in 1995, deputy High Court judge in 2000 and a High Court judge in the family division in 2005. The experienced judge, who was selected as the only legal member of the Family Justice Review which recommended a statutory six-month time limit for resolving care cases.
He earlier commissioned two groups to look at how the court system deals with cases involving children, and how it can be changed. Their reports were published on Wednesday. Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s the World At One programme on how cuts to legal aid have affected the system, Sir Andrew said: “What it means for the court is that the judges and magistrates are often having to interact with these individuals directly, and that’s a different skill-set from interacting with a professional lawyer.
“But what’s needed is a major public education programme about parenting and how to be a parent once you and your partner have fallen out.
“The sort of thing I have in mind is the approach that was taken to smoking or seatbelts or other public health issues.
“Each parent has full responsibility now to sort the problems out for their children and we need to do what we can to educate the public at large about other ways of sorting their problems out other than coming to court.” He gave examples of mediation, counselling or “maybe a YouTube video with parents talking about separation”In its report, the group of judges and professionals said legal aid data confirmed its observations that more people were coming to court in person and there had been a drop in the number taking up mediation sessions.
OUT OF COURT
The report suggested that a quarter of private law cases do not raise child protection issues and could be dealt with out of court. In a civil case, the applicant has to demonstrate that the problem you are dealing with is serious – not all civil cases are eligible for legal aid – and that you can’t afford to pay for it yourself
In criminal cases, anybody who is arrested is entitled to legal aid in the courts, and if the case moves on to a court, any defendant under 18 or who is receiving certain benefits such as universal credit or income support, is automatically entitled to legal aid. Other people have to undergo a means test which considers the applicant’s income and savings as well as their household’s income and savings.
Most of the cases that arrive in court between parents splitting up occur because many parents lack the maturity to handle their differences when they split up, and require the intervention of a court in dealing with their case.