The Public Law Outline (PLO) comes into use on 1 April and aims to speed up family law cases. However, the guidance does not mention the government's target for completing cases within 40 weeks (CYP Now, 31 October-6 November) as on occasions this might not be in the best interests of the children.
A spokesman for the Ministry of Justice, which published the guidance, said: "The reason it is not explicitly expressed in the outline is because we want people to be entirely focused on what's best for the child in each individual case. While the target is still there, this is about allowing people to be more flexible. It should be child centred and not target centred."
The guidance has been developed by the Judiciary of England and Wales, and aims to achieve better co-operation between those involved in care and supervision cases. Under the PLO, the six stages of the court process will be reduced to four, leading to a simpler more streamlined process with fewer unnecessary hearings.
The court will set an appropriate timetable for each case and each option for the child will be fully explored before it reaches the court.
The PLO aims to provide better case management and the earlier identification of key issues, which should lead to better use of experts' advice. Legal advice will also be made available before proceedings to help parents resolve issues.
Caroline Little, joint chair of the Association of Lawyers for Children, welcomed many of the changes contained in the PLO and said she hoped that they would lead to cases involving children being dealt with more effectively.
But added: "We are concerned social services won't be able to do the work they have to do pre-proceedings. The other concern is resources throughout the family justice system and courts."
Children Law UK, which is part of social care charity Tact, is half way through training 2,500 inter-agency staff about the PLO. Nine out of 10 local authorities have been or are also due to be trained.
Tact's chief executive Kevin Williams said: "The PLO will reduce the time court proceedings take and most importantly the views of the children are at the heart of this change."
- www.cypnow.co.uk/doc
PUBLIC LAW OUTLINE
The guidance explains:
- How a timetable for a case should be set by the court
- What documents must be provided for a case to be heard
- The role of advocates
- What is heard by courts at different stages of the process
