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The judiciary has launched a consultation on a revised version of the Family Public Law and Private Law Allocation and Gatekeeping Guidance, which determines how cases are allocated across different levels of the family court judiciary.
The revised draft follows a review by the Family Magistrates Working Group, established in February 2024 by the President of the Family Division’s Family Executive Team and chaired by Mr Justice Keehan. The group, comprising judges, magistrates and legal advisers, concluded that the existing guidance required a full update.
A dedicated Allocation Guidance Working Group, including Lord Justice Baker, a Circuit Judge, a District Judge and two Senior Legal Managers, subsequently undertook a complete re-draft.
Unified guidance: Public and private law cases are now covered in a single document. In private law, both Child Arrangements Programme cases and Pathfinder cases are included.
New format: Previous tables have been replaced by lists setting out the types of cases to be listed before magistrates, District Judges, Circuit Judges and other judicial office holders.
Role of magistrates: For the first time, the guidance explicitly provides for allocation to magistrates, rather than referring only to District Judges and Circuit Judges.
Adoption cases: The draft incorporates adoption cases, previously dealt with only in paragraph 5 of the Schedule to the 2014 Rules.
The President of the Family Division has approved the draft for consultation.
The consultation runs from Monday 1 September until 4pm on Friday 10 October 2025.
Responses should be submitted via the online form. Submissions are limited to 4,000 characters (around 650 words). Longer responses or queries can be directed to the Judicial Office at jostrategyandmodernisation@judiciary.uk.
Mr Justice Keehan, Lead Family Presiding Judge, said the changes aim to modernise the allocation framework and reflect the role of magistrates more clearly within family proceedings.
