Private family law applications involving non-parents are diverse
Private law applications to the family court usually involve separated parents who are struggling to agree arrangements for their children1,2. However, 10 per cent of these applications each year feature people who aren’t parents. New research published by Nuffield Family Justice Observatory (Nuffield FJO) explores the types of orders being applied for and the characteristics of the people involved. It highlights that this minority of cases is actually a very sizeable group, with around 5,500 such applications made each year in England and 300 in Wales – equivalent to around a third of the volume of public law applications for a care or supervision order.