News of further rollout of the Pathfinder Courts programme has been welcomed by family practitioners but sounded a note of caution about whether outcomes are being properly measured and investment in the service is forthcoming.
It was announced last week the Pathfinder courts in Wales, Dorset and West Yorkshire would be followed by further rollout in the Midlands, at courts in Wolverhampton, Worcester and Stoke-on-Trent, and in January will be further rolled out to Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.
Ministry of Justice figures published last week also revealed the courts have significantly improved timescales where in some cases the time is takes from application receipt to final order have halved. Open caseloads have also fallen by as much as 58% in South East Wales in the two years between August 2023 and August 2025.
Although these numbers are welcome, the news has left some professionals questioning whether the outcomes of Pathfinder, ensuring the voice of the child is heard alongside parents, and delivering a satisfactory legal outcome, is being achieved.
In response to the roll out of the Pathfinder model in the Midlands, Law Society President Mark Evans said it was ‘vital’ for government to provide greater access to legal aid for families to use the system effectively.
“To ensure that the new system can be a positive addition to family justice for our communities, we urge the government to continue to evaluate the pilot in detail and involve the families themselves and family practitioners in this process.”
Rachel Frost-Smith, Legal Director in the family team at Birketts LLP echoed calls for further investment following the release of Part One of an evaluation of the introduction of the Pathfinder Project. Acknowledging the first part of the research focuses on delivery and implementation, the second part, focused on court outcomes, will be crucial.
“Certainly, any system that achieves the aims set out above must be applauded. However, it will not be possible without a system of accurate information gathering to allow evaluation and forward planning, and investment in the service. In our experience, the crisis in London in terms of delays continues, deeply impacting children and victims of domestic abuse, that there is a lack of consistency in applying domestic abuse law, procedure and protocols across the country, and a lack of resources for victims.
“The arguments in favour of establishing specialist domestic abuse courts where the tribunal and professionals understand the nature of domestic abuse, including how perpetrators seek to use litigation as a form of abuse remain strong – alongside Pathfinder.”
Pathfinder will replace the Child Arrangements Programme introduced in 2014 with the stated aims of improving the experiences of families in child arrangements proceedings, reducing the re-traumatisation of victim-survivors of domestic abuse, reducing the amount of time families spend in court and improving coordination between agencies.
“The key findings of the evaluation were that Pathfinder brought about substantial improvements. It places the voice of the child at the centre, and this is sought much earlier in the process under Pathfinder. There was some cautious optimism about the success of Pathfinder.
The role of the Case Progression Officer in Pathfinder courts is seen as key to delivery of the model. The challenges remain resources – particularly when managing ‘legacy’ cases (cases started under CAP) alongside Pathfinder cases, and that domestic abuse agencies could not necessarily cope with the number of referrals to them.”
Speaking to the Association of Lawyers for Children Annual at their annual conference President of the Family Division Sir Andrew McFarlane said he was on record as being ‘wholly supportive’ of a national roll out of Pathfinder but the question of whether further courts will be established beyond 1st April next year was part of the overall spending review.
Membership and professional body Resolution are currently conducting a survey on the success of Pathfinders amongst its membership.
One Response
Pathfinder has and will reduce the time it takes for applications to be heard and outcomes reached.
Delay rarely improves outcomes for children ( although one or other parent might benefit from delay where they like the status quo arrangement).
After 26 November Budget and once the Government overall spending review is complete, there may be some visibility on whether any more resource is to be put into Pathfinder. Even if the answer is yes, the number of CAFCASS officers available to produce child impact reports ; the availability of Local Authority input and the number of judicial sitting days will remain limited . Funding all these elements are necessary to make Pathfinder a success nationwide.
London will have to wait some time longer.