The Ministry of Justice has announced that the government’s private law scheme, Pathfinder, will be expanded to include West Yorkshire on 3June 2025. The scheme aims to improve the experience of children and families involved in court proceedings and has already transformed practice in North Wales and Dorset, where it was first implemented.
So, what will Pathfinder change and how will this affect families? The Pathfinder scheme applies to child arrangement proceedings. It was designed to implement a problem-solving approach which improves coordination between the family court, CAFCASS, local authorities and the police. This allows the court to identify and assess risks earlier and to better understand the family’s needs, which in turn makes the process more efficient. As a result, it minimises delays and reduces the need for families to attend multiple hearings. In addition, Pathfinder is set to provide the much-needed expert support and advice to domestic abuse victims.
The scheme works in two stages. The first stage revolves around understanding the case and the impact of its issues on the children involved. Information is gathered from the parents, as well as from relevant organisations. The key findings are summarised in a Child Impact Report, which will largely eradicate the need for safeguarding letters and s.7 reports. If issues of domestic abuse are identified, Domestic Abuses Services support is triggered, and independent agencies will intervene to assess risk and provide support.
In the second stage, the court will review the Child Impact Report and determine what the next steps should be. The case could follow an adjudication path and proceed to a decision (or agreement) or follow the case management path if additional activities are required. The activities vary depending on the case, but may include additional evidence gathering, additional reports, interim orders or a fact-finding hearing. Tasks will be allocated as needed, and children may be given the opportunity to participate if appropriate.
The first stage currently takes between 6 and 8 weeks to complete in North Wales and Dorset. The second stage varies in duration depending on the number of additional activities that are required. Under the current model, it may take months or even years to resolve a case, with delays caused by the need to go back and forth with local authorities to obtain more evidence and then attend multiple hearings. Data shows that the cases that follow the new Pathfinder model are resolved 11 weeks earlier on average – the process is now more front-loaded, and information is made available at the start to facilitate faster progression.
The backlog of cases in the Pathfinder areas has halved, and courts have become more effective at engaging with domestic abuse. A recently published evaluation report also shows that Pathfinder enables the voice of children to be placed in the centre of proceedings, and their views are heard and respected much earlier in the process compared to the old model.
The scheme is continuously monitored and evaluated and has already been refined based on the collected data. Her Honour Judge Nancy Hillier – the Designated Family judge for West Yorkshire – confirmed that the courts are actively working to reduce outstanding cases to facilitate implementation in the area. Internal training for all agencies involved is taking place, and official training days have already been scheduled to ensure that legal professionals understand the changes and are well prepared to support families in court.
As highlighted by HHJ Hillier, West Yorkshire has historically had a high number of private law applications. As such, Pathfinder’s multi-agency approach will allow the court system to deal with them more quickly and efficiently.
Court proceedings are often extremely difficult for children, particularly those who have already experienced significant trauma from the separation of their parents or have suffered domestic abuse. The launch of Pathfinder will allow the families in West Yorkshire to be better supported and will shield thousands of children from any further exposure to the court system.
If you would like any further information or would like help or advice in relation to children matters please contact us on 0113 357 1270.
