This month marks the relaunch of the Public Law Outline (PLO), as announced in November 2022 by the President of the Family Division.

In his published ‘view’, Sir Andrew McFarlane expressed his hope that 2023 will see every professional within the system working towards completing all proceedings within the 26 week timeframe.

Research in Practice resources for practitioners, managers and leaders

Reconnecting with the principles of the PLO will require effective and person-centred practice that takes into account research evidence and upholds the dignity of the family and child. The Family justice and pre-proceedings hub contains a range of resources to develop practice in this area.

Relaunching the PLO

Delays and backlogs have been affecting the ability of courts to complete proceedings in a timely manner. The factors that have led to this situation are often beyond the control of the courts and of statutory agencies. Covid-19 and the rise in section 31 applications have both had widespread effects in this regard.

However, the ongoing impact of delay is significant both for families undergoing proceedings and for professionals trying to work effectively. The president remarked that, unlike other kinds of legal case, family law cases are liable to develop while waiting to go to court. This can result in issues compounding and a need for further hearings or adjournments. As the president puts it, ‘delay breeds more delay.’

The relaunch of the PLO process will involve reconnecting with the original principles and timelines set out in the Family Procedure Rules 2010, PD12A.

The president outlines key areas for focus:

• The PLO Pre-proceedings process, with the engagement of parents and a thorough assessment exercise, following Department for Education Guidance and the Public Law Working Group (PLWG) recommendations, is essential.

• Only those very rare cases that are truly urgent should be the subject of an ‘urgent’ first hearing. Too often an ‘urgent’ hearing is sought as a matter of course. Urgently fixed hearings are seldom fully effective and a further hearing or hearings will normally be required.

• The first hearing should be the Case Management Hearing (CMH), held ‘not before Day 12 and no later than Day 18’; an advocates meeting is to be held no later than 2 days before the CMH.

• Parents to be expressly required to identify any family members for assessment at, or within a week of, the CMH. We would note that enabling family and friends to come together and seek solutions to the issues of concern through a Family Group Conference should occur at a much earlier stage. The Independent Review of Children’s Social Care (2022) makes the recommendation of a new legal entitlement to family group decision making before a case reaches the Public Law Outline (PLO).

• No other hearing should normally be listed after the CMH until the Issues Resolution Hearing (IRH).

• Since 2016/7 there has been a 33% rise in the number of experts instructed. Experts should only be instructed where to do so is ‘necessary to assist the court to resolve the proceedings justly’, rather than where it is merely desirable or helpful (C+FA 2014, s 13(6)).

• The third hearing in the case, if necessary, will be the Final Hearing.

• At the IRH or Final Hearing the court is only required to evaluate and decide upon the following issues:

  • Are the section 31 threshold criteria satisfied?

  • If so, what are the ‘permanence provisions’ of the care plan; and

  • What are the contact arrangements?

  • By affording paramount consideration to the welfare of the child, what final order(s), if any, should be made.

   

• The court is not required to consider any aspect of the care plan other than the permanence provisions.

• Robust case management by the court is required at all stages. This will include, where necessary, regular ‘compliance’ hearings to deal with any failure by a party to meet dates. All parties will be expected to monitor compliance with the court timetable and, if needed, report any failures to the court.

He also emphasises the need to reduce the number of hearings in each case and to ‘make each hearing count’.

Research in Practice resources for practitioners, managers and leaders

The Family justice and pre-proceedings hub contains a range of resources to develop practice in this area. The hub includes briefings with messages from research and policy, a set of practice tools, and multimedia resources from parents and children with lived experience of court proceedings. The president’s concerns reflect themes arising from research on the family justice system. 

Ensuring effective practice and just outcomes for families and children will also involve being attuned to diverse needs of families. The briefing Ensuring equality, diversity and inclusion in the Family Court highlights important areas for consideration.