Reporting of proceedings in the family courts through the transparency pilots has been extended to include public and private law cases before magistrates.

From Friday, the pilot was extended to magistrates in all 19 of the current pilot areas. From today (11 November), the pilot scheme for the reporting of financial remedy proceedings will also be extended to include the Royal Courts of Justice. It has been running at the Central Family Court, Birmingham and Leeds since the end of January.

The reporting pilot, which allows accredited journalists and legal bloggers to report on children cases in the family court subject to strict rules on anonymity, started at the family courts in Leeds, Cardiff and Carlisle in January 2023. It was extended to other courts across the country a year later and then, in July this year, was further extended to  private law cases.

The pilot introduces a presumption that media and legal bloggers may report on family court cases. Under a transparency order, issued by the court when a journalist attends, reporting is permitted.

Interviewing and quoting parties in a family law case is also permitted and journalists are entitled to certain court documents while adhering to anonymity conditions set out in the transparency order.

Speaking at the time that the reporting pilot was first extended, president of the Family Division Sir Andrew McFarlane said the further roll-out was a ‘huge step in the judiciary’s ongoing work to increase transparency and improve public confidence and understanding of the family justice system’.

Read more

A family court reporting week also begins today to encourage more reporting of cases in the Family Division. Some designated family judges in the pilot areas will be taking part in talks and discussions organised by The Bureau of Investigative Journalism (TBIJ). Events to ‘highlight the value of family court reporting’ will take place in Derby, Luton and Leeds. 

Journalist Louise Tickle, coordinator of TBIJ’s family court reporting week, said: ‘Ten years of attending family hearings has shown me it is vital for journalists to report on the decision-making of social workers, children’s guardians, court appointed experts and judges. ‘When draconian powers are exercised out of public view, an independent media presence can be the only check and balance available to families whose lives are indelibly altered by their experience of these courts.’

The courts taking part in the pilot scheme are: Liverpool, Manchester, Carlisle, West Yorkshire, Kingston-upon-Hull, Nottingham, Stoke, Derby, Birmingham, Central family court, East London, West London, Dorset, Truro, Luton, Guildford, Milton Keynes, Leeds and Cardiff.