After the voting British public headed to the polls yesterday, the UK has woken up to a Labour government for the first time in 14 years. Family Lawyers have said the new ruling party must ‘commit to cohabitation reform’ and calls for the new Secretary of Justice to build on proposals put forward by the Law Commission.
Cohabitation reform, better investment in family courts and Legal Aid reform were among the main asks of the sector to the new government alongside a halt to court closures across the UK.
When speaking on the new Labour government, there have been calls for the new Secretary of Justice re-visit proposals put forward by the Law Commission in 2022 after the introduction of a new legal framework for cohabiting couples was removed.
Chris Lloyd-Smith, partner in the private legal services team at law firm, Anthony Collins said: “The new Labour Government should prioritise plans for cohabitation reform. The new Secretary of State for Justice could build upon the proposals put forward by the Law Commission in July 2022, which removed the introduction of a new legal framework for cohabiting couples.”
Prior to the election there were rumblings in the family law sector that Labour hadn’t laid out a clear pathway for cohabitation reform in their manifesto and worries that Labour MP Emily Thornberry had made a U-turn to her promise to prioritise the 3.6 million cohabiting couples in the UK.
Despite expressions of disappointment from firms Tony Roe, partner at Dexter Montague commented of Labour’s manifesto pledge to protect women in co-habiting couples calling this a positive change and ‘doesn’t mean Labour will ignore pleas of cohabitation reform from the public but rather would focus their efforts on the dangers presented to unmarried women in cohabiting situations’.
The Labour manifesto stated: ‘We will strengthen the rights and protections available to women in co-habiting couples’.
Nick Gova, partner and head of family at London law firm Spector Constant & Williams urged the new government not to ignore cohabiting couples. He said:
“Although the rights of cohabiting couples were not mentioned in Labour’s manifesto I hope that the new government takes action in this area. In a speech at the Labour Party conference last year, Shadow Attorney General Emily Thornberry MP said that the Labour government would reform the law for cohabiting couples and I really hope they do so and bring the law into the 21st century.
“There are more than 3.6 million cohabiting couples in the UK and despite being the fastest growing type of family, they are ignored by the law as it stands. This means that there is very little protection available if a relationship breaks down and the financially weaker individual will lose out significantly.
“Giving more rights to cohabiting couples would also help to protect victims of domestic abuse. The sad reality is that abusers take advantage of the current lack of legal protection. They know their victims cannot afford to leave the relationship and would have no financial independence or ability to rebuild their lives. The law in this area is long-overdue for reform.”
Grant Cameron, Chair of Resolution’s National Committee says: “Resolution is looking forward to working with new ministers and Ministry of Justice officials to make cohabitation reform a reality as quickly as possible.
“The family justice system in England and Wales is at a crucial turning point. It is vital that the family justice system meets the need of today’s modern families. We urge the Government to make cohabitation reform a priority so that more than 3.6 million cohabiting families in the UK get the legal protection they urgently need.”
Suggestions that there should be a continuation of the mediation voucher scheme to ‘ease the burden of the backlog faced in the court system’.
Delays and backlogs in the criminal courts are having an impact on Domestic Abuse and Sexual Abuse claims, some of which are involving children as victims of the latter, the Law society claimed.
Law Society of England and Wales President, Nick Emmerson, said:
“It is extremely worrying to see the huge backlogs in our criminal courts continue to rise, which is leading to unacceptable delays for victims, witnesses and defendants.
The number of outstanding cases in the magistrates’ courts is almost 30,000 higher than it was a year ago.
While the Crown Court backlog has reduced slightly month-on-month to 65,077 it is still more than 3,500 higher than last year and far above the UK government’s target of reducing it to 53,000 by March 2025.”
In November 2023 there were 370,090 outstanding cases in the magistrates’ court, up from 340,102 in November 2022. In the Crown Court the backlog stood at 65,077 in November 2023, compared to 61,526 in November 2022.
Family court closures are among priorities for family practitioners, despite the digitisation of legal services there is still a need for a physical court and closures should be put on hold as ‘Users of these courts are often from disadvantaged economic backgrounds and further closures could mean that they are having to travel further, costing more to attend court and get access to justice’, according to Mr Lloyd-Smith.
Mr Lloyd-Smith also spoke on Legal Aid Reform, commenting: “The new Labour Government should prioritise plans to reform Legal Aid, which have been delayed until 2026. The new Government should not only prioritise the means test reforms and bring them in line with inflation, it should also review and reform the merits test and how it is applied. The merits test should not be a ‘one size fits all’, as this can lead to the absence of funding for vulnerable people, notably those in Court of Protection proceedings.”
Family lawyers appear to be in unison in what they expect from the new Labour government and an overall ‘improvement of family justice’ has been deemed essential alongside support for the family courts. The Chair of Resolution, a campaigning body that represents over 6,500 family justice professionals has set out ‘three main asks’ of those now in power.
Jo Edwards, Chair of Resolution’s Family Law Reform Group, said: “There are three main asks of the new Government, in the context of family justice. First, cohabitation reform – to which Labour committed in its manifesto. For too long we have ignored the reality of how people are living their lives, and it is not enough to educate people about their lack of rights or just encourage them to marry or form a civil partnership. We need to protect people, and their children, from financial hardship by finally grappling with these issues and introducing a framework of rights and responsibilities for unmarried couples.
“Second, a commitment to funding for initial family legal advice, which is vital in the aftermath of the legal aid cuts, to support people as they navigate separation and, where appropriate, signpost them away from court and alleviate the pressure on our courts.
“Third, the new administration must invest in our family justice system and better support our family courts, so that those couples who need to go to court – usually the most vulnerable – don’t face long delays in accessing justice.
“The recommendations in our Vision for Family Justice are essential for improving the family justice system, reducing conflict for separating families and providing necessary protection and support for them and their children. As the leading voice of the family justice sector, Resolution played a pivotal role in working with the previous administration to make no fault divorce a reality. We look forward to working alongside the new government to advise and guide them on all issues impacting separating families and improve the lot of children everywhere.”