Family courts to retain current practice with no major changes from July
Sir Andrew McFarlane, the president of the family division of the courts spoke about the impact of ‘Freedom Day’ when Covid restrictions were lifted.
He said that the system was working ‘relatively well’ with the flexible use of family court hearings.
Family courts have been making use of remote, hybrid and in-person hearings for over a year during the course of Covid. ‘There is no need for this to change on one particular date; indeed, such an idea would do nothing but cause extensive confusion and difficulty’ he continued.
Whilst formal distancing requirements and other restrictions may be lifted in July, it seems unlikely that the need for caution and good sense in relation to social interaction will totally disappear on a particular date, with the consequence that not all of our court rooms and the public spaces in court buildings will, even then, be suitable for a full return to face to face use.
You can read the Law Gazette article on this topic through this link.