Ian Maxwell discusses changes enacted this week to the family court system.

The change in name from Bar Reporter to Child Welfare Reporter might seem to be a fairly minor detail in the operations of the Scottish family court system. However it is the most visible marker to three years of discussion and negotiation aimed at improving the quality, transparency and consistency of the contribution of a key figure in thousands of contact/residence cases each year.

The changes introduced this week by the snappily titled Act of Sederunt (Rules of the Court of Session 1994 and Ordinary Cause Rules 1993 Amendment) (Child Welfare Reporters) 2015 (SSI 312/2015) actually introduce a series of reforms in a process that has been operating in the Scottish courts for many years.

As long ago as 2011 the Scottish government published research (“Scoping study to provide information on the commissioning, preparation and use of court reports in the Child Welfare Hearing System in the Sheriff Courts”) that that identified a series of issues with the Bar Reporter scheme.

These included a lack of uniformity or transparency in the appointment process for Bar Reporters; variations in how the matters to be reported on were specified by sheriffs; absence of any essential qualifications or ongoing training of Reporters; a significant number of reports taking more than 12 weeks to be lodged with the court; and no standards for what the reports should contain or how they should be structured.

The study acknowledged that despite these shortcomings, the use of Bar Reports formed a key part of the family court process, stating that they were part of: “… an invaluable fact finding mechanism that may enable parents to reach agreement. Failing such an agreement being reached the bar report assists the sheriff to make decisions in respect of contact and residence relatively speedily.”

Nevertheless, while the mechanism might have been sound it didn’t always appear to be working perfectly.

My first experience of a Bar Report was as a lay assistant to a father in a Sheriff Court. The Bar Report in his case was handed to us 20 minutes before the hearing, having taken nearly three months to complete. It was one-sided in its consideration of his request for contact and gave very little background as to how the Reporter had carried out her enquiries. Following that report the sheriff didn’t allow him any contact with his daughter. It didn’t feel right.

The working group convened by the Scottish government to consider changes to the Bar Reporter system also agreed that the concept of instructing an independent person to fact find on behalf of the court works well. It resisted the temptation to propose an entirely new apparatus such as the English and Welsh CAFCASS system.

Following extensive discussion by this working group, other legal and judicial bodies and the Scottish Civil Justice Council, these changes finally emerged and took effect last Monday.

Sheriffs and judges now have to specify within their interlocutors what they want the new Child Welfare Reporter to do. Reports have to be submitted no less than three working days before the court hearing at which they are to be considered. Printed guidance will be provided to reporters and to the parents who are subject to reports to explain their respective roles.

Crucially, a new mandatory training programme will be developed covering specific topics which Child Welfare Reporters must be aware of including domestic violence and parental alienation.

Personally, I am very glad to see changes made which should ensure better practice and better outcomes for the children involved throughout the Scottish court system.

Families Need Fathers Scotland produced the first parents’ guide to Bar Reports in 2012. We have just reissued this guide to incorporate the new name and the new processes. The guide can be downloaded from ourwebsite.

We feel that it is vital that parents who have a Child Welfare Report ordered in their court case understand the importance of conveying to the Reporter the benefits to the children of their continuing with meaningful parenting time with their children rather than using the meeting simply to criticise the actions of the other parent. Child Welfare Reports, as the name suggests, should be part of a process for resolving disagreements between parents and sorting out arrangements for their children, not just for continuing the disagreement.

Ian Maxwell is national manager of Families Need Fathers Scotland and was a member of the Scottish government working group on Child Welfare Reporters.