Thousands of children waiting nearly a year in ‘unacceptable’ custody courts backlog
Soaring backlogs in the family courts are harming children’s welfare with thousands spending Christmas racked with uncertainty about which parent they will be living with in the future, the Law Society has warned.
Government figures show private children law cases – which involve family disputes over where children live and which parent they have contact with – lasted an average of 45 weeks between July to September 2023, a rise of nearly a week from the same time period last year.
The data shows there were 13,420 new private law applications in this time, with 19,908 children caught up in the requests.
