Article by Paige Procter-Harris

The Family Court at Birmingham has been selected for the new Pathfinder Pilot.

This was introduced on 28 May 2024, it is a reformed approach to private law children proceedings. The scheme was initially piloted in Dorset and North Wales in March 2022, which has now expanded to Birmingham.

The details of the new Pathfinder Pilot are contained within Practice Direction 36Z of the Family Procedure Rules. To summarise, the purpose of the pathfinder approach is to assess the use of new practices and procedures, by following a revised court process.

The revised process has been designed with a focus on improving the experience of the family court for all court users, particularly survivors of domestic abuse, litigants in person and the children that are at the centre of these applications, by seeking to hear the voice of the child more clearly through each case.

The pilot seeks to use a more investigative approach, which features earlier gatekeeping and information gathering to enable earlier resolution of proceedings, as well as reducing the number of cases coming back to court. This allows for the reduction of costs to the parties and a quicker resolution, thereby avoiding the prolonged stresses of proceedings for all involved.

The aim is for a more holistic, multi-agency approach, with the court engaging and developing positive working relationships with key local partners such as mediators and local authorities.

Family practitioners will be aware of the usual processes, however, to compare the two:

Cases that started before 28 May 2024 will continue to follow the existing procedure as follows:

1. Unless a party qualifies for an exemption, both must attend a Mediation, Information and Assessment Meeting (MIAM)
2. Filing of the C100 form
3. The application is picked up and directions are given for Cafcass to prepare a safeguarding letter, and a first hearing is listed within 6-8 weeks
4. Court hearing 1 – First Hearing Dispute Resolution Appointment (FHDRA)

If a section 7 report is ordered at the FHDRA, this can take up to 12 weeks to complete.

1. Court hearing 2 – Dispute Resolution Appointment (DRA)
2. Court hearing 3 – Final Hearing (if necessary)

The process for the Pathfinder scheme is as follows:

Cases started after 28 May 2024 will follow the new procedure:

1. Unless a party qualifies for an exemption, both must attend a Mediation, Information and Assessment Meeting (MIAM)
2. Filing of the C100 form
3. The application is picked up within 48 hours and directions are given for Cafcass to prepare a Child Impact Report (CIR) within 40 days (this replaces the safeguarding letter and section 7 report) providing for a more comprehensive report in a shorter time frame which allows for quicker decision making
4. Gatekeeping / case management appointment where the court determines the next steps and whether a hearing is necessary (parties do not attend this appointment)
5. Decision hearing (if deemed necessary and this can be effective as a final hearing)
6. Review hearing (means of assessing how the order is working in practise)

The difference in the approaches is clear, with the pilot there is an aim of more helpful information being gathered at an earlier stage and with fewer hearings, with a view of early and effective resolution.

It is evident that with this pilot scheme there will be a divide amongst practitioners as to whether this approach is more effective than the standard process. As this pilot scheme is tested it will become clearer as to whether this is the best way forward to revolutionise private law children proceedings.

It is noted that during The Nuffield Family Justice Observatory webinar in April 2023 HHJ Lloyd and HHJ Simmons expressed their views of the pilot scheme, stating that it is a much more supportive process for victims of domestic abuse and allows parents to reframe their mindset when thinking about the best arrangements for their children in these proceedings, therefore it appears they have taken a positive overview of the scheme.