Nuffield Family Justice Observatory is continuing its work to support a system-wide understanding of how family justice practice has been shaped by COVID-19.
During 2020, we carried out two rapid consultations on the impact of remote hearings in the family court. These informed discussion and guidance about how the family courts should work as the pandemic continued. Now that social distancing restrictions are starting to be relaxed, we have been asked by the President of the Family Division to undertake a further rapid consultation to glean insights that will inform how the courts should operate during the ‘recovery’ period.
This third survey is shorter than the previous two and asks questions about what aspects of working remotely should be retained, what problems continue to be encountered and how best to address those, as well as asking about the experience of attending court in person.
This consultation is open to anyone with experience of the family court or court of protection during the pandemic – public and private family law proceedings, including proceedings in relation to financial remedies.
The survey is open from 10 June to 27 June. We encourage all those involved in hearings in the family court, including parents, to respond. We recognise that some groups or organisations may wish to add their responses and we will be happy to receive written responses via this contact address: consultationfjo@nuffieldfoundation.org
