Children let down by government ‘lack of urgency’ over family court backlogs

The Committee warns that despite a statutory requirement for most public law cases to be completed within 26 weeks, the target has never been met, leaving thousands of children waiting years for decisions about their futures.

In December 2024, more than 4,000 children were involved in public and private law cases that had been open for longer than 100 weeks. While average case duration improved by three weeks in the last year, four of the government’s five performance indicators on caseload and timeliness for 2024–25 were missed, with no clear plan to address them. Around one in three public law cases had at least one cancelled hearing before it even began, wasting resources and compounding delays.

The PAC says a shortage of district judges and social workers is at the heart of the crisis, with children in some regions waiting far longer than others. Cases in London now take an average of 53 weeks, compared with 24 weeks in Wales. The Committee criticised the absence of a systematic assessment of how many judges and social workers are required to meet demand, and has called on government to set out how it intends to tackle workforce gaps.

Written evidence to the inquiry highlighted the heavy toll delays take on children, particularly those living with domestic abuse. Families described the system as complex, inefficient, and difficult to navigate without legal support. Concerns were also raised about whether Cafcass officers, court staff, and legal advisors have the training and resources to adequately support victims of domestic abuse.

The Committee’s report notes that prolonged delays increase the likelihood that family circumstances will change before a case concludes, often necessitating fresh reports and further hearings. While mediation can help families resolve issues more quickly, uptake of the Ministry of Justice’s £500 mediation voucher scheme remains low.

Clive Betts MP, Deputy Chair of the PAC, said the government has shown “complacency” by defending modest improvements since the pandemic rather than recognising the “urgent need for reform glaringly obvious to court users.”

“Some evidence was deeply personal, and we have been unable to publish all of it - but every submission contributed to a picture of a system badly letting down the children and families that it is there to serve. Alarmingly, when challenged on unacceptable waiting times in the system, government fell back on defending moderate improvements since the pandemic, rather than appreciating the urgent need for reform glaringly obvious to court users.

“Of particular concern to our inquiry was evidence that the system is not meeting the needs of domestic abuse victims. There are encouraging findings highlighted in our report in the roll-out of the Pathfinder scheme to take a whole system approach to improve victims’ experience. The government should seize the opportunity this represents to improve private law performance, while bearing down on blind spots in the system which prevent improvements from being properly targeted. Given the experience of the system described to our inquiry by children and families, complacency is not an option.”

The PAC has also called on government to clarify how the additional £2bn investment in children’s social care will be used, particularly to strengthen early family support and reduce reliance on the courts.