Over sixty percent of parents are now without a lawyer when going to court to
contest arrangements for their children, new government figures
reveal.
Between April and June 2014, 12,554 parents out of a total of
20,126 in England and Wales went to court without a lawyer to decide issues such
as child contact, residency and maintenance payments.
Prior to legal aid
being withdrawn from lawyers for most family disputes, the proportion of
unrepresented parents at court for the same matters stood at 42% in 2012/13. The
latest quarterly figures for 2014/15 show this has increased to 62%.
The
Ministry of Justice figures were revealed under the Freedom of Information Act
following a request by
Marc Lopatin, trained family mediator and founder of
divorce and separation service
Lawyer Supported Mediation.
Commenting on
the statistics, Marc Lopatin said:
'Family courts are rapidly becoming
lawyer-free zones. This is having a devastating impact on low-income families as
well as creating delays for all parents attending court.
Ministers
should admit they got it wrong. They need to stop seeing lawyers and mediators
as an either or. Both professionals working in tandem can keep families out of
court and promote the interests of the child.'
