Insights

Pathfinder Update

It has been nearly a year since the Pathfinder process was introduced in private law children proceedings in South-East Wales and the court are now rolling the court practice out to the remainder of Wales in March. I have dealt with about a dozen cases and every matter has been run differently and had varying outcomes. Each court is taking a slightly different approach so dealing with client’s expectations is tricky.

The court and Judges are positive about the way cases have progressed as the timetable is being complied with rigidly and the child impact reports from Cafcass and the Local Authority are being obtained by the 6 week deadline. As with every new court intervention it will take time for the process to settle and from my experience there are still some teething problems.

The speed in which the cases are progressing is too quick on some cases – I know, I know, we said previously it was too slow. If matters have issues of vulnerability some parties need extra time to process the matter and that is now missing. If parents are recently separated and cannot communicate however much we tell them it is beneficial it still takes time for the dust to settle.

The orders are not defined enough – I know, I know, we previously said they were too lengthy but several orders are now just dealing with the issue at hand which has been raised in the application and the report and not looking at any other matter which will inevitably arise – such as Christmas. This is leading to variation applications and it may be that where previously an order would last for many years the new Pathfinder order will be varied more regularly.

Lastly, for some reason even if a notice of acting has been filed the reports are being sent from Cafcass directly to the client which is causing upset but also delay when trying to comply with the strict timetable.

Fact finding hearing still need to have their place as do reviews and the robust way of concluding cases may not fit all. The system will mellow as we all do with age but until then I think if in doubt file a C2 as otherwise the issue may not be raised.