"The new provisions follow the success of the Family Court Reporting Pilot, which started in January 2023, and was progressively rolled out over the next two years. At the end of 2024 the Family Procedure Rule Committee approved the extension to all family courts and made the required changes to the Family Procedure Rules and issued new practice directions. Improving public understanding and confidence in the Family Court is of fundamental importance. The reporting that we have seen has been significant, and includes coverage of issues affecting some of the most vulnerable people in our society, such as: children subject to Deprivation of Liberty Orders; the need to limit parental rights for convicted paedophiles and cases of child neglect or abandonment. The extension of the open reporting provisions to the remaining family courts in England and Wales will follow stepped arrangements, as in the pilot, starting with public law cases, then private law cases and finally magistrates."
