There are inefficiencies in systems and processes that worsen experiences and outcomes for children and families, making it harder to achieve best value for money. Around 32% of public law cases have at least one hearing cancelled before the hearing takes place, leading to delays and wasted resources. Not only that, but current processes can lead to errors, duplication or unnecessary effort. We heard about some improvements for public law but there are still significant inefficiencies in systems and processes both for public and for private law. Many families, particularly litigants in person, find it difficult to understand what they need to do, leading to additional pressure on court resources. The average number of hearings and the number of expert reports per case have also increased in recent years. When cases are delayed it becomes more likely that family situations will change before the case concludes, leading to the need for new expert reports and court hearings. Settling cases out of court such as through mediation can be quicker, with benefits for children, but uptake of MoJ’s mediation voucher scheme has remained too low. Helping families stay together also helps improve court performance through reducing demand on the struggling court system. To that end, the Spending Review of June 2025 announced £2 billion funding for new investments in children’s social care, part of which is intended to provide better family support. recommendation MoJ and DfE should take steps to improve efficiency in family justice systems and processes by: • making a system-wide assessment of where process inefficiencies impact on performance; 4 • putting in place arrangements to learn from and embed good practice; • supporting families, in particular, litigants in person, to better navigate the system; • promoting alternative resolutions where possible; and • clarifying how the additional £2 billion of new investment in children’s social care will be spent, for example, in impro