From 29 January, the Transparency Implementation Group Reporting Pilot (TIG), which for the first time made it the default position that the media could report on family cases, will be extended to courts across six regions.
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Under the pilot there is a presumption that accredited media and legal bloggers can report on what they see and hear during family court cases, subject to strict rules of anonymity.
The pilot started at the family courts in Leeds, Cardiff and Carlisle at the end of January 2023. The judiciary say the expansion will help understand the impact of reporting on the courts system and judges themselves, on those involved in family proceedings, and on the media.
President of the Family Division Sir Andrew McFarlane said: “Extending the reporting pilot to family courts across the country is a huge step in the judiciary’s ongoing work to increase transparency and improve public confidence and understanding of the family justice system.
“We hope that in extending the pilot further we can continue to understand the impact that family court reporting has. I would like to urge the media to read the guidance and come to the family courts to see the vital and challenging work that is done there, and to report on the cases and issues that are so important.”
Courts that will be taking part in the expanded pilot are:
- North West: Liverpool, Manchester
- North East: West Yorkshire, Kingston-upon-Hull
- Midlands: Nottingham, Stoke, Derby, Birmingham
- London: Central Family Court, East London, West London
- South West: Dorset, Truro
- South East: Luton, Guildford, Milton Keynes
Cathy Ashley, chief executive of Family Rights Group, welcomed the pilot’s expansion. She said: “The decisions made by the courts, and indeed, who has access to justice, has far reaching, and often life-long implications for individual children and their families. It is important therefore that there is greater awareness of what happens in the court system. This both helps the public better understand how the family justice works and is a mechanism for ensuring that the system is accountable and transparent.
“The pilot, however, needs to be backed by sufficient resources. It isn’t enough to rely on journalists or bloggers turning up to court. They need to have the time, knowledge and know-how to attend and report accurately and appropriately. We also need court judgments more consistently routinely published by judges. And those affected – children and their families - need to be central to the evaluation of the pilot itself.”
The TIG scheme was one of the main recommendations from the President of the Family Division’s Transparency Review, published in October 2021.
