Our speaker at our Monthly Meeting on 22 April 2026 was Mark Faith, a Justice of the Peace who sits in the Family Court in West London. With more than 35 years’ experience as a solicitor, he had all the legal experience we needed to understand the Family Courts, the law they apply and to provide the answers to our many questions.

The Family Courts were established in 2014 to deal with all legal matters concerning children except for money. The law that the courts apply principally concerns the Children Act of 1989, and the main requirement is stated in Section 1 of the Act. Section 1 calls upon the court to give primary consideration to the welfare of the child, when dealing with any matter concerning the upbringing of a child, or the administration of a child’s property or income coming from that property.

The act provides a definition of a child, a parent and a guardian.

Not everyone can afford to be represented in court, and often the adults appear as ‘Litigant In Person’. Often some time has to be allowed for the law to be explained to those appearing in court. Any court needs information to operate, and the close liaison with the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (CAFCASS) enables the court to obtain child centred information independently from the adults that may be involved in a case.

Mark brought a case study for the members to consider, demonstrating the complications and difficulties facing children when the family structure is crumbling or failing the child. The court has to take into consideration the wishes of parents, guardians, grandparents and more after determining what is best for the child.

The court can issue orders, and failure to comply with an order is treated as Contempt of Court. There is also a seven point checklist to guide the court in making Contact Orders – who will have contact with the child, and Prohibited Steps Orders – actions that an adult in the family is prohibited from doing. In addition there are Residence Orders – determining where the child will live, and Specific Issue Orders which defining actions the parent or guardian must take. Needless to say, there is a backlog of cases, and of preparing reports on the child whose family is appearing before the court.

This was a fascinating talk on a technically complicated subject, and many questions came from the floor. Our next Monthly Meeting will be on Wednesday 27 May 2026 at 10:00 and deal with Swinging London in the 1960s.