Children are to be put at the centre of court proceedings.
Following a successful pilot scheme, new Child Focused Courts will be rolled out across England and Wales.
The trial saw cases in the family court resolved up to seven and a half months quicker. Family court backlogs were reduced by half.
To counter lengthy adversarial court proceedings, the new courts will identify any risks to the children’s welfare more quickly – for example, when they’re experiencing domestic abuse.
At the same time, the courts will no longer start from an assumption that parental involvement is always in a child’s best interest.
The Government will also restrict parental responsibility from people who have been convicted of a serious sexual offence against any child, and where a child is born of rape.