Resolution writes to new Lord Chancellor

Dear Lord Chancellor

Introduction to Resolution

I am writing to congratulate you on your appointment as Lord Chancellor, and to introduce Resolution. I would also like to request that we arrange a meeting to discuss how we may support and inform your work.

Resolution represents 6,500 family lawyers, mediators and other family justice professionals working with separating families across England and Wales.  At the heart of all Resolution’s work is our aim to support families to resolve issues in a constructive manner that puts the needs of children first.  We are proud of the strong and positive relationship we have had with Ministers and officials at the Ministry of Justice, including Baroness Levitt, and I hope we can continue to build on this with you and your team.

In particular, we have been working closely with officials on the current consultation on reforming financial remedies on divorce and strengthening protections for cohabitants at the end of their relationship. Resolution has been calling for reform to protect cohabitants for decades, as the current system of no rights leaves too many vulnerable people, particularly women and children, without meaningful protection when a relationship ends or a partner dies.

Many still mistakenly believe in the myth of “common law marriage,” only to discover too late that they face financial hardship, inequality and emotional distress because the law has failed to keep in step with the reality of how an increasing number of families (some 3.5m in the UK) are living their lives.

The progress made in this area under your predecessor was incredibly welcome and necessary. We are currently preparing our formal response to the consultation paper; please do let me know if there is any additional assistance Resolution can provide in ensuring reform takes place in a timely and appropriate fashion.

There are a number of other areas of family law reform which would help those navigating the family justice system; these are set out in our Vision for Family Justice, which we published in 2023.

Resolution has also long made the case for funding for early family legal advice to help families to find solutions at an earlier stage, navigate the court process (where that is the right solution for the family) and to help reduce the demand on hard pressed family courts, freeing up valuable court time for those cases which most need judicial input. There is a clear correlation between the withdrawal of the provision of early legal advice for many family cases (through the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012), and the rise in litigants in person, as well as the fall in mediation numbers in the years following LASPO.

A few years ago, Resolution was working with officials to develop a pilot scheme for early legal advice. Whether through re-establishing the development of this scheme or other means of providing early legal advice for family matters, we hope that you will wish to continue to develop policy in this area as soon as possible, and would be happy to contribute our perspective and experience on this.

We also look forward to working with you and your team to ensure the rollout of Child Focused Courts (CFCs) is as effective as possible; we have members across the country who are sharing their experiences with others in order to support practitioners in areas where CFCs are due to be introduced soon.

On behalf of our 6,500 members, I wish you the best of success in your new role, and look forward to working with you to improve the family justice system in the interests of all.

Please could you ask your private office to contact our Head of Policy, Rachel Rogers, with a view to arranging a meeting.

Warm regards,

Melanie Bataillard-Samuel

National Chair