Family justice faced rising demand before the COVID-19 pandemic, with public law receipts peaking in 2017 at 19,389, while private law receipts peaked in 2020 at 55,711. The backlog of cases increased by 2021 and cases were taking longer to settle.8 The number of outstanding cases remains large, but has fallen from a peak of 65,743 cases in August 2021 to 47,662 by December 2024, although MoJ recognised that there is more to do.9