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1651438

registered interest
date	07/07/2023
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Divorce
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the reasons for the 22 per cent rise in divorce applications since reforms were introduced in April 2022.
tabling member printed	Lord Farmer
uin	HL9170
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/07/2023 answer text <p>The Government continues to monitor and assess divorce application statistics. In the first year since divorce reforms were introduced in April 2022, 119,000 divorce applications were made through the new process, compared to almost 108,000 applications for the last full year under the previous legislation. This is an increase of 11 per cent. We expected a temporary spike in the volume of applications following implementation of the divorce reforms. This is because people will have waited to apply for a divorce under the new process. However, international evidence shows that long-term divorce rates are not increased by removing ‘fault’ from the divorce process. We expect volumes to return to previous levels once the initial peak has occurred.</p> answering member printed Lord Bellamy question first answered 17/07/2023 13:30:03 answering member 4941 label Biography information for Lord Bellamy
tabling member	4321 label Biography information for Lord Farmer

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

1453685

registered interest
date	23/03/2022
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 discussions officials in his Department have had with relevant stakeholders on reforming the law governing financial provision on divorce to align with the introduction of no-fault divorce; and with which stakeholders such discussions have taken place.
tabling member constituency	East Yorkshire
tabling member printed	Sir Greg Knight
uin	145820
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/03/2022 answer text <p>The Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020, will commence on 6 April. Following the implementation of these fundamental reforms, the Government will consider how to best proceed with the commitment to review the law governing financial provision on divorce, at which point engagement with the relevant stakeholders will take place. We will announce our intentions in due course.</p> answering member constituency Corby answering member printed Tom Pursglove question first answered 28/03/2022 16:18:04 answering member 4369 label Biography information for Tom Pursglove
tabling member	1200 label Biography information for Sir Greg Knight

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

1275016

registered interest
date	08/01/2021
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Divorce
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Lord Stewart of Dirleton on 6 January (HL Deb, col 131), what progress they have made with the review of financial provision law.
tabling member printed	Baroness Deech
uin	HL11921
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/01/2021 answer text <p>The Government has committed to set up a Lord Chancellor’s working group to assess any evidence for changing the law of financial provision on divorce and dissolution. This review will be led by evidence, which is yet to be gathered, on whether there are problems with the current law. The Government will seek to ensure a balance of members from across different professions. The Government will make an announcement in due course.</p> answering member printed Lord Wolfson of Tredegar question first answered 22/01/2021 14:07:26 answering member 4901 label Biography information for Lord Wolfson of Tredegar
tabling member	3756 label Biography information for Baroness Deech

1184071

registered interest
date	10/03/2020
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, pursuant to the oral contribution of 3 March 2020 of the Advocate General for Scotland in Committee on the Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Bill, HL Deb column 579, if he will publish the evidence base for the assertion that rather more than 80% of divorces take place sooner than the timescale set out in the Bill.
tabling member constituency	Gainsborough
tabling member printed	Sir Edward Leigh
uin	27491
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/03/2020 answer text <p>The Government published an Impact Assessment for the Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Bill when first introduced to Parliament in June 2019. This document can be found at</p><p><a href="https://services.parliament.uk/Bills/2017-19/divorcedissolutionandseparation/documents.html" target="_blank">https://services.parliament.uk/Bills/2017-19/divorcedissolutionandseparation/documents.html</a></p><p> </p><p>The Bill seeks to introduce a new minimum 20-week period between the start of divorce proceedings and when the court can be asked to make the conditional order of divorce (currently known as Decree Nisi). Together with the existing 6-week minimum period between Decree Nisi and Decree Absolute a divorce under the Bill would take a minimum of 26-weeks overall. The Impact Assessment estimates that 78% of cases with no linked financial remedy application and 82% of cases with such a linked application would take longer under the Bill.</p> answering member constituency Cheltenham answering member printed Alex Chalk question first answered 18/03/2020 17:56:09 answering member 4481 label Biography information for Alex Chalk
tabling member	345 label Biography information for Sir Edward Leigh

1135301

registered interest
date	27/06/2019
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 decrees nisi there were in 2018 in which the grounds for divorce was two years separation.
tabling member constituency	Cardiff Central
tabling member printed	Jo Stevens
uin	270426
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/07/2019 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 sole ground for divorce is that the marriage has broken down irretrievably. Currently, the law requires a person seeking a divorce to satisfy the court of one of five ‘facts’. One fact requires that the parties of the marriage have lived apart for a continuous period of at least two years immediately preceding the presentation of the petition for divorce, and that the respondent consents to a decree being granted.</p><p> </p><p>In 2018 there were 118,355 divorce petitions, of which 32,297 (27%) cited the two-year separation fact. Following a divorce petition, further applications are required for the decree nisi to be granted and then for it to be made absolute, bringing a legal end to the marriage.</p> answering member constituency Blackpool North and Cleveleys answering member printed Paul Maynard question first answered 02/07/2019 16:18:38 answering member 3926 label Biography information for Paul Maynard
tabling member	4425 label Biography information for Jo Stevens

1122316

registered interest
date	23/04/2019
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	What steps he is taking to consider the views of the public before proposing changes to divorce laws.
tabling member constituency	Congleton
tabling member printed	Fiona Bruce
uin	910443
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/04/2019 answer text <p>Hostility and conflict between parents leave their mark on children and damage their life chances.</p><p> </p><p>That is why we intend to remove the need for blame when people divorce. A YouGov poll published the same day as our response to the consultation indicated 73% support for doing so.</p><p> </p><p>We held a full public consultation last year to test our detailed proposals. We have reflected on the experience and insight that people brought from all perspectives.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer question first answered 23/04/2019 16:31:56 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
tabling member	3958 label Biography information for Fiona Bruce

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

1079556

registered interest
date	01/03/2019
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, what the average time taken was for (a) the issue of a divorce petition and (b) the issue of divorce petition to decree nisi in each of the last two years.
tabling member constituency	Leeds East
tabling member printed	Richard Burgon
uin	227399
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/03/2019 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. When a party applies for divorce, the court must complete administrative checks before it can issue the divorce petition. The time taken between the issue of a petition to when a decree nisi is granted is affected by a range of factors, including the respondent acknowledging that they have received the petition, the petitioner applying for the decree nisi, and the court considering the case and listing a hearing to pronounce the decree nisi.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Year</strong></p></td><td colspan="2"><p><strong>Average time from receipt to issuing of petition </strong></p></td><td colspan="2"><p><strong>Average time from issuing of petition to decree nisi</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p><strong>Mean average</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Median average</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Mean average</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Median average</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2016</p></td><td><p>2.1 days</p></td><td><p>0.0 days</p></td><td><p>24.1 weeks</p></td><td><p>17.0 weeks</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2017</p></td><td><p>3.6 days</p></td><td><p>0.0 days</p></td><td><p>23.7 weeks</p></td><td><p>15.9 weeks</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2018 (January-September)</p></td><td><p>8.3 days</p></td><td><p>3.0 days</p></td><td><p>27.9 weeks</p></td><td><p>20.3 weeks</p></td></tr></tbody></table> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer question first answered 11/03/2019 17:31:42 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
tabling member	4493 label Biography information for Richard Burgon