Family court access statistics published, reflecting changes the COVID-19 pandemic
New cases started in UK family courts are down 13 per cent between April and June 2020, according to the latest statistics from the Ministry of Justice.
Overall, a significant decrease in most types of family justice has occurred. These reductions in new cases started is linked to pandemic health measures undertaken by the family courts.
56,867 new cases started in Family courts in April to June 2020, down 13% on the same quarter in 2019.
- 18% decrease in matrimonial matters, including divorce and separation applications.
- 7% decrease in private law case starts.
- There has also been a 24% decrease in adoption proceedings.
- There were 7,218 financial remedy (FDR) applications made in April to June 2020, down 31 per cent from the same period in 2019.
The divorce statistics, when broken down, also reflect the trend of decreased and slow down in activity: with 23,372 divorce petitions filed in April to June 2020, down 18% on the equivalent quarter in 2019. There were 23,196 decree absolutes granted in April to June 2020, a decrease of 5%.
Family Law Week reports, in this article, that the divorce statistics show median time to decree nisi was 14 weeks and 31 weeks for decree absolute respectively.