The Private Law Justice Gap
The Nuffield Family Justice Observatory has published a report on private law cases in England and Wales. The report ‘Uncovering private family law: Who’s coming to court in England?’, reveals that private law children cases in England ‘disproportionally involve those living in deprived areas’. The report shows a ‘clear north-south divide’ in the number of private law applications being made, with numbers being consistently higher in the North East, North West and Yorkshire and Humber areas, and consistently lower in London and South East England. The report also shows that parents’ need for help and assistance from the family courts changes by region.
Some key statistics in the report were that, in 2019–2020:
- 30% of applicants resided in the ‘most deprived quintile’ and 13% lived in areas in the ‘least deprived quintile’.
- Private law application rates in the northern regions varied between 79 and 81 per 10,000 families with dependent children and 44 per 10,000 in London and 59 per 10,000 in the South East of England.
There is concern that this evidences a Justice Gap, namely that since the removal of access to legal aid many families cannot afford legal representation, and are resorting to Court as their only means of access to justice. This underlines, once again, the urgent need to re-think the way support for families is provided on separation, so that no family is left in a legal advice vacuum.
You can read the full report here.
Author Name: Editor
Published content by The Divorce Surgery Editorial Team.
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