In a heated exchange at the Bar Conference this week end, the Chairman of the Bar Standards Board, Baroness Ruth Deech, told the Legal Services Commission Chairman, Bill Callaghan, that he totally misunderstood why Legal Aid costs in Family Law had risen. The reason, she said, is quite simply because “there is so much more family breakdown.”
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When couples split, “there should be a default mechanism for shared responsibility unless there is a welfare reason not to” said Tim Loughton, speaking at a Tory Conference fringe meeting last week.
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This a is a must listen BBC interview. It presents a refreshingly insightful and balanced picture of domestic abuse.
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There were reports last week that women are three times more likely than men to be arrested for domestic violence.
This headline comes as a surprise to those of us who have personal experience of domestic disputes, and yet the press have simply run with the story without investigating what lies behind it. So, here is what the BBC and the Guardian should have reported, but didn’t:
The author is Marianne Hester. She is professor of Gender, Violence and International Policy at Bristol University. She is co-director of the Violence against Women …

CAFCASS policy has undergone a shift of late in favour of shared parenting. “Cafcass wishes to help both parents to continue, after separation or divorce, to play an important role in their children’s lives, unless there is a good reason, supported by evidence, not to do so.”
They acknowledge that not all of CAFCASS’ own people have come up to speed with this new approach yet, and so their Guidance for case officers is essential reading for anyone whose children are currently involved with them.
This is welcome news which may have …