For contact and info: http://plymouth.fnf.org.uk/
After eighteen meetings at Raffles Social Club, Mutley Plain, we have moved on. What started as a scramble to find another club back room after Raffles reorganised its upstairs function room into a games room ended with effective corporate sponsorship from one of Plymouth’s principal companies.
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The police have been told to downgrade calls about mental health emergencies. LINK
This is part of a trend. All public authorities are cash strapped. They are having to cut back and often eliminate expenditures on things that they are not legally obliged to provide. They are often unable to fulfil even those properly.
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New ‘Practice Direction’ on Non-Molestation Orders. LINK
A hearing by a senior judge, that they are being abused, was reported in the last Newsletter.
Perhaps as a result, the ‘President of the Family Division of the High Court’ – in plain English, the boss of the family courts, has issued a new ‘Practice Direction’. How NMOs should be handled. Lawyers and others with a stake in deploying tactics against the other side will not want to apply it. It restricts their moves.
But if you are affected, read it. And if you are, or fear you may be a target, ensure it is applied.
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Important judgement on Parental Alienation LINK
Important for its substance, but also politically and on social media
This might – one can never be sure – be the case that got a lot of prominence on social media: a ‘transfer of residence’ from a ‘protective’ mother to an ‘abusive’ father.
This is not the opinion of the Judge who made the decisions, having, just perhaps, listened to the evidence and the advice of experts!
Going ‘public’, albeit with the essential thing of protecting the identity of the children, is a very partial answer to dishonest social media posts. If you see a relevant post, please refer to this published judgement.
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Mandatory mediation - Family Solutions and Association of Lawyers for Children express concern (LINK)
Further concerns have been expressed about the governments suggestion that mediation should be mandatory in family courts. Many FNF members who have experienced the family court as a LIP are likely to say, “Lawyers would say that, wouldn’t they?”.
We generally advice our members to do the paperwork themselves and employ a barrister to do the hard bits in court should they need it. We give the help and support through our network of branches and online meetings. But surely there is room for mandatory mediation in child arrangements matters. It's not as if it is not become compulsory in other areas of law.
FSG concerns are that the proposals are simply to deter people from court. In our experience family court often results in a long, forced separation from your children.
FNF supports early intervention. We think an early triage, financial assistance, parenting courses and assisted mediation would all help parents put their children ahead of court.
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The Family Court and Domestic abuse: achieving cultural change (LINK)
Having reviewed the report, there are some positive features which we recognise, with reservations, such as the need for greater monitoring, data collection and analysis of domestic abuse within the court system. However, this is far outweighed by the negatives.
By the report’s own admission, the evidence on which many of the recommendations are based is self-selecting and potentially biased, it views genuine concerns of alienating behaviours as no more than a mechanism to cover abuse and there is no recognition of the harm done to children from such behaviours and contact denial.
There are many others, and we are drafting a fuller response to follow.
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