The Central London
Designated Family Judge Trailblazer Project
This practice guidance website and AI assistant were developed as part of the Central London Designated Family Judge Trailblazer Project. Central London was one of five Trailblazer areas across the country to take part in the Trailblazer project. This pilot project was funded by the Department for Education (DfE) for one year, between April 2024 to March 2025, with the objective of tackling the drivers of delays in care proceedings.
Delays in family courts have been a long-standing issue. The family justice system is one of the most complex and cross-system policy areas within children’s services; delays result in poorer outcomes for children and additional costs to local authorities and the taxpayer. Central London was granted funding to test solutions to create the sustainable cross-system change needed to reduce family court delays.
There are a complex set of system-wide reasons for delays, and given the project was time limited to one year, the Central London DFJ Trailblazer prioritised the following local drivers:
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Lack of Judicial confidence in social work assessments and their place in court
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An increase in the use of expert assessments and a limited availability of suitably qualified experts
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A lack of clear and robust evidence to understand demand and outcomes for children and families in pre proceedings and care proceedings.
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Cases with late presenting family members
The Central London Trailblazer Project comprised of the 12 London boroughs that use the Central London Family Court alongside Cafcass, working in partnership the Judiciary. Our collective ambition is to complete care proceedings in 26 weeks or fewer.
A first, collective step towards was to create a more consistent, regional approach to care proceedings. The Central London Trailblazer Project introduced and piloted a range of solutions that sought to tackle the drivers of delays, which were grouped into three thematic work areas:
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Strengthening regional leadership and governance
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Improving the collection and use of pre proceedings and care proceedings data.
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Improving pre proceedings and care proceedings practice
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The Central London Trailblazer Project made huge progress and implemented a range of solutions within one year, thanks to the collaboration with people and organisations across the system. However, further work is required to bring the duration of care proceedings down to an acceptable level for our children and families. We believe these solutions provide a positive foundation for a whole-system transformation of the family justice system.
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