The Resolution Manifesto for change in the family justice system covers 6 key areas. We will now look in more detail at the proposals.
- Protect vulnerable people going through separation
This proposal relates to two issues: the availability of some initial advice for people going through a separation and changes to the new Child Maintenance Service.
Family legal aid was taken away for most clients as part of government cuts to the legal aid budget which came into force on 1st April 2013.
Resolution proposes that a “family law credit” be introduced for people who are financially eligible for legal aid. This can be used to obtain initial advice from a lawyer to discuss the options on separation. Effectively, it would bring back an initial form of legal aid called Legal Help which enables lawyers to provide initial advice and assistance. It would also result in many more referrals to mediation for which legal aid continues to be available.
The Child Maintenance Service has taken over from the much admonished Child Support Agency. The CMS is much more “hands off” in its approach to child maintenance than the CSA. It encourages parents to agree child maintenance using a formula. Whilst “family based arrangements” work fine for many separated parents, there remains a hard core of absent parents who simply refuse to pay. In these cases the CMS charges a £20 fee to use the service and then adds 20% to any maintenance assessment to the paying parent and deducts 4% from the receiving parent. The result is more children from the poorest families being plunged further into poverty. The Manifesto proposes these charges are abolished.
- Introduce measures to keep divorce out of court
Since the cuts to legal aid many more people are representing themselves in court proceedings. Without advice on other forms of dispute resolution, court seems to be the only option. The proposal is that AIMS – Advice and Information Meetings – are made available to separating couples early on to advise on different ways to resolve family law disputes.
It is proposed that legal aid should not only be available for mediation but other forms of dispute resolution, including arbitration, collaborative law and solicitor negotiation. For an explanation of collaborative law https://www.resolution.org.uk/collaborative_process
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