A consultation has been launched to gather feedback on the guidance for short notice applications in the family courts, published by the Family Executive Team (FET).
The FET is consulting on five documents aimed at reducing the number of short notice applications, which have been drafted by the Short Notice Applications Working Group.
Short notice applications made up more than 60% of all public law cases in November 2024, when the working group was established. The consultation classes all applications made before day 12 as short notice.
The working group was tasked with considering the reasons for these types of applications and their handling at the gatekeeping stage with the aim of reducing the number of short notice applications received by the courts.
The guidance within the remit of the consultation aims to reduce the number of urgent applications and introduce a more consistent, timely and proportionate approach to gatekeeping and case management by the court.
The working group is seeking views on five documents:
- Family Court Short Notice Applications Guidance
- Family Court New-born Baby Protocol
- Template Order: Public Law Directions made at end of urgent ICO hearing
- Template Order: Public Law Directions on Issue and Allocation (standard listing)
- Template Order: Public Law Directions on Issue urgent hearing
Announcing the consultation, Mr Justice Keehan, chair of the FET, explained:
“It is grounded in the shared ambition of all those involved in family justice, local authorities, the cours, Cafcass, health services, and legal representatives, to uphold children’s rights, ensure a fair process, and promote better outcomes for children and their families.
“Given the high proportion of urgent applications involving cases relating to newborn babies, and implications for full parental participation in post birth, a protocol on dealing with such cases is included.”
Mr Justice Keehan will host a webinar on 26 February at 4pm to discuss the development of the consultation documents and the work of the Short Notice Applications Working Group. Register at https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/d616c21e-3647-46ad-ab4c-f045f13c1ceb@c6874728-71e6-41fe-a9e1-2e8c36776ad8
