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1345328

	registered interest
	date	08/07/2021
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Divorce
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans he has to reduce the number of separation and divorce proceedings that end up in the family court system; and what steps he is taking to increase the use of mediation services.
	tabling member constituency	Workington
	tabling member printed	Mark Jenkinson
	uin	29911
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/07/2021 answer text <p>Divorce and dissolution are a fundamental change of legal status that may have implications for people’s rights and responsibilities, for matters such as property and inheritance, and for the families involved. Since the Matrimonial Causes Act 1857, divorce has always been a court process and only the court can legally end a marriage.</p><p> </p><p>However, divorcing couples can use family mediation to reach agreement about the arrangements for any children and for dividing their financial assets, rather than asking the court to decide these matters.</p><p> </p><p>This government is committed to supporting more families to resolve issues such as these through mediation, where appropriate. On 26 March 2021, a £1m Family Mediation Voucher Scheme was launched by the MoJ, to encourage and better support families to use mediation and resolve disputes outside of court.</p><p> </p><p>The Family Mediation Voucher Scheme is currently available in private law children cases where there are no safeguarding concerns and the case is deemed suitable for mediation. The scheme will offer over 2,000 families a financial contribution of up to £500 towards their mediation costs, giving these families the opportunity to resolve their disputes with the assistance of a trained mediator. Mediation Vouchers are offered, at the Mediation Information Assessment Meeting (MIAM) to ensure families are provided with information regarding the support they can get, before they decide to pursue their matters in the family court.</p><p> </p><p>We are closely monitoring the uptake and impact of the scheme and are actively considering what more could be done to encourage parties to consider mediation as an alternative to court, including better signposting of mediation as part of the implementation of the Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020.</p><p> </p><p>This government will continue to look at how the benefits of mediation can be better communicated, in order to encourage wider use of mediation where cases are suitable to do so.</p> answering member constituency Cheltenham answering member printed Alex Chalk question first answered 16/07/2021 13:45:22 answering member 4481 label Biography information for Alex Chalk
	tabling member	4752 label Biography information for Mark Jenkinson

802353

	registered interest
	date	06/12/2017
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Divorce
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent representations he has received on introducing no-fault divorce.
	tabling member constituency	Wrexham
	tabling member printed	Ian C. Lucas
	uin	118040
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/12/2017 answer text <p>The department receives correspondence and Parliamentary Questions on a range of family law issues, including no-fault divorce. We acknowledge the arguments and the strength of feeling on this issue.</p> answering member constituency Esher and Walton answering member printed Dominic Raab question first answered 12/12/2017 13:17:18 answering member 4007 label Biography information for Dominic Raab
	tabling member	1470 label Biography information for Ian C. Lucas

649522

	registered interest
	date	01/12/2016
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Divorce
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans she has to allow separating couples to divorce without blame.
	tabling member constituency	Woking
	tabling member printed	Mr Jonathan Lord
	uin	55785
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/12/2016 answer text <p>As the Government made clear in the recent consultation on court reform, we are considering what further changes are needed to the family justice system and will bring forward proposals in due course.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency North East Hertfordshire answering member printed Sir Oliver Heald question first answered 15/12/2016 17:19:14 answering member 69 label Biography information for Sir Oliver Heald
	tabling member	4090 label Biography information for Mr Jonathan Lord

649523

	registered interest
	date	01/12/2016
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Divorce
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment she has made of the efficacy of divorce law in helping divorcing parents put the needs of their children first.
	tabling member constituency	Woking
	tabling member printed	Mr Jonathan Lord
	uin	55786
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/03/2017 answer text <p>Divorce law enables a court to end a marriage which has irretrievably broken down, where one party to the marriage petitions for a divorce. A number of tools and services, such as the online Parenting Plan, are available to help divorcing parents reach agreements about the needs of their children, for example covering questions about living arrangements and education. If there is a dispute, parents can choose to use mediation which can be quicker, less stressful for families and cheaper than litigation.</p><p> </p><p>Where agreement is not possible, either parent can apply to the court for an order to determine with whom the child is to live or spend time, but is required first to attend a meeting to consider mediation. If the case goes before the court, the court is legally required to make the child’s welfare its paramount concern in any decision regarding the child’s future, while recognising the importance of parental involvement.</p> answering member constituency North East Hertfordshire answering member printed Sir Oliver Heald question first answered 14/03/2017 17:09:45 answering member 69 label Biography information for Sir Oliver Heald
	tabling member	4090 label Biography information for Mr Jonathan Lord

885380

	registered interest
	date	17/04/2018
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Divorce
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will assess the potential merits of introducing no-fault divorce settlements in helping couples to settle disputes outside court.
	tabling member constituency	Tooting
	tabling member printed	Dr Rosena Allin-Khan
	uin	136243
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/04/2018 answer text <p>The Government wants to help reduce conflict in divorce, particularly when arrangements need to be made about children and finances. We are studying the evidence and potential merits for change.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer question first answered 23/04/2018 16:54:36 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
	tabling member	4573 label Biography information for Dr Rosena Allin-Khan

1063917

	registered interest
	date	19/02/2019
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Divorce
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many applications for a divorce were lodged between Christmas 2018 and New Year 2019.
	tabling member constituency	Strangford
	tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
	uin	223057
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/02/2019 answer text <p>The National Statistics publication ‘Family Court Statistics Quarterly: October to December 2018’ which includes the number of divorce petitions will be published on Gov.uk:</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/family-court-statistics-quarterly" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/family-court-statistics-quarterly</a> .</p><p> </p><p>The latest figures available cover the period up to September 2018 and are found here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/family-court-statistics-quarterly-july-to-september-2018" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/family-court-statistics-quarterly-july-to-september-2018</a></p><p> </p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer question first answered 27/02/2019 17:16:19 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
	tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1535112

	registered interest
	date	24/10/2022
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Divorce
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to help reduce the number of divorces.
	tabling member constituency	Strangford
	tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
	uin	69635
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/11/2022 answer text <p>Marriage will always be a vital institution in our society, but divorce does sadly occur. The Government is committed to supporting families. That is why we have announced over £1billion for programmes to improve family services, including family hubs and investing in the Supporting Families programme. We have published guidance for local authorities on the services we expect family hubs to offer, which includes helping families to access support for separating and separated parents.</p> answering member constituency Finchley and Golders Green answering member printed Mike Freer question first answered 01/11/2022 14:49:35 answering member 4004 label Biography information for Mike Freer
	tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

451346

	registered interest
	date	08/02/2016
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Divorce
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people (a) applied for and (b) were granted divorce in each of the last five years.
	tabling member constituency	Strangford
	tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
	uin	26376
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/02/2016 answer text <p>Details of the number of applications for divorce and the number of decrees issued by the courts are published in Table 7 of the Family Court Statistics Quarterly and the December 2015 report is at the following link:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/family-court-statistics-quarterly-july-to-september-2015" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/family-court-statistics-quarterly-july-to-september-2015</a></p><p> </p> answering member constituency Gosport answering member printed Caroline Dinenage question first answered 12/02/2016 13:48:42 answering member 4008 label Biography information for Dame Caroline Dinenage
	tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

937476

	registered interest
	date	09/07/2018
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Divorce
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the number and proportion of divorces which have been refused in each of the last five years.
	tabling member constituency	South Antrim
	tabling member printed	Paul Girvan
	uin	162139
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/07/2018 answer text <p>A decree nisi is the provisional decree of divorce pronounced when the court is satisfied that a person has met the legal and procedural requirements to obtain a divorce. The number and proportion of divorce petitions in which the court declined to grant a decree nisi in each of the last five years are as follows:</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Year</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Divorce petitions issued</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Decree nisi not granted</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Proportion of all petitions</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2013</p></td><td><p>97,044</p></td><td><p>20,462</p></td><td><p>17%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014</p></td><td><p>94,842</p></td><td><p>17,759</p></td><td><p>16%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015</p></td><td><p>97,782</p></td><td><p>16,789</p></td><td><p>15%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2016</p></td><td><p>98,335</p></td><td><p>15,791</p></td><td><p>14%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2017</p></td><td><p>93,934</p></td><td><p>15,414</p></td><td><p>14%</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>The court may decline to grant a decree nisi because there is insufficient evidence that the marriage has broken down irretrievably. Further evidence may then be submitted to the court and the court may decide to grant the decree. Information on how many rejected decrees nisi are granted subsequently could only be obtained from an analysis of court files at disproportionate cost.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer question first answered 17/07/2018 09:07:26 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
	tabling member	4633 label Biography information for Paul Girvan

1121794

	registered interest
	date	18/04/2019
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Divorce
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Government response to the consultation on reform of the legal requirements for divorce, what steps he took to consult with the public before proposing change to the divorce laws.
	tabling member constituency	North East Hampshire
	tabling member printed	Mr Ranil Jayawardena
	uin	245898
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/04/2019 answer text <p>The Government’s consultation was predicated on the clear need for reform to reduce hostility and conflict between divorcing parents, which leave their mark on children and damage their life chances. We therefore sought views on how best to achieve this, not on the case for reform.</p><p>We held a full public consultation over twelve weeks last year to test our detailed proposals in light of the widest possible range of views and insights. We have reflected on the points raised in the consultation from all perspectives, not just from the many individuals and organisations who were supportive. A YouGov poll on the day we set out our proposals suggested 73% support for removing blame from the legal process. We have detailed the final results of the consultation in our response and outlined people’s views on all sides, and we remain grateful to everyone who responded.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer question first answered 30/04/2019 16:27:34 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
	tabling member	4498 label Biography information for Mr Ranil Jayawardena