Family lawyers have welcomed the ‘ambitious’ proposals published by the Family Justice Review Panel last week, but warned that the changes will not work unless there is adequate funding.

The Law Society and Family Law Bar Association supported the interim recommendations of the panel, which called for ‘systemic change’, with a more integrated service, a unified court system and judicial continuity.

The two bodies also recognised the benefits of the panel’s proposals to divert people away from the courts towards mediation and other dispute resolution.

However, they warned that there would be many cases that needed to be resolved by a court.

Law Society president Linda Lee said: ‘We are concerned that some of the proposals may place too many hurdles in front of people whose disputes will ultimately need to be resolved by a court, and cause significant delay and cost.’

She added that the family justice system has been under-resourced for too long, and it is ‘crucial that adequate resources are in place to properly implement these changes’.

FLBA chair Stephen Cobb QC welcomed the ‘laudable yet ambitious’ proposal that public law cases should be dealt with within six months.

But he said fundamental changes would be necessary before ‘shocking’ delays could be reduced.

He added: ‘In order to achieve these goals, the new system needs to be properly resourced and funded.’

In its report, the panel, chaired by David Norgrove, said the family justice system ‘is not working’ with ‘scandalous’ delays causing harm to vulnerable children and adults.

After taking evidence for over a year, it concluded that the system is too complicated, with overlapping structures and a lack of shared goals and objectives.

Other key recommendations included: the insertion into law of a statement that children should have a meaningful relationship with both parents after separation; the use of parenting agreements focused on where children spend time rather than on ‘contact’ and ‘residence’; and reinforcing the importance of relationships with grandparents and other relatives and friends.

The panel will consult on its proposals before publishing its final report in the autumn.