On 3 November 2011 the Family Justice Review panel published its final report. This sets out its key conclusions and recommendations for the family justice system, including reducing duplication in the system, ensuring that the child’s wishes and interests remain prominent and setting a clear time limit for the length of care cases.

The review, which was sponsored jointly by the Ministry of Justice (MOJ), the Department for Education (DfE) and the Welsh Assembly Government, was established in March 2010. It was led by an independent review panel, chaired by David Norgrove.

The review panel was asked to consider radical reform of the current systems for:

  • resolving disputes about contact with children and where they should live when couples break up (private law);
  • the process of divorce; and
  • processes when local authorities apply to the courts to take children into care (public law).

In its early work the panel looked at how the system is currently working. Over 600 organisations responded to its call for evidence. In addition, it drew views from an extensive range of seminars, workshops and interviews with those involved in the system across the country.

We have now published our response to the Review. We have accepted the majority of the panel’s recommendations. The key messages are that we are:

  • Putting children at the heart of the process, so that their needs are the paramount concern.
  • Speeding up care cases, committing to limit the length of care cases to six months, down from the current average of 55 weeks.
  • Providing greater help to those parents who do separate, to encourage far more couples to resolve their disputes outside of court.
  • Committing to making a legislative statement emphasising the importance of children having an ongoing relationship with both their parents after family separation (where that is safe and in the child’s best interests).
  • Establishing a Family Justice Board to drive performance improvements in the system.

We are confident that, taken together, these steps represent a significant agenda for change and will transform the family justice system and improve the lives of thousands of children and families. You can read more about the detailed work we are doing, and a full analysis of our response to each of the Review's recommendations, in the full report. A young people's version has also been produced. 

Welsh language versions of the Government’s Response to the Family Justice Review and of the Government Response to the Family Justice Review: A Guide for Children and Young People are also available to download.