On 3 March 2025 the Family Courts in West Wales will join South-East and North Wales in implementing the Pathfinder Pilot for private law children cases. This means that Wales will be the first of the home nations to implement this new way of dealing with disputes between parents about their children’s arrangements.
Under the Pathfinder Pilot, within a day or two of the application being issued at court, a judge or court legal adviser will consider the application and make case management decisions.
Usually, the judge will order an officer from CAFCASS Cymru to prepare a Child Impact Report, which would involve the officer speaking to both parents, and if appropriate, the children and any other relevant people, such as the children’s school. The officer would identify any areas of agreement and disagreement, before making recommendations to the court for the children. This allows judges to make informed decisions, much earlier than previously.
In conjunction with Resolution South Wales, on 3 February 2025 David Gareth Evans from the 9 Park Place Family Team delivered Pathfinder training to family law practitioners and judges in West Wales.
Gareth was also interviewed by BBC Wales for television, radio and for their online news coverage. The article can be found here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c74ex5v0975o