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CAFCASS has published its strategy for 2026 – 2029. It is not a new Act of Parliament and it does not rewrite the Family Procedure Rules. But its commitment to hearing children earlier, strengthening safeguarding, reducing delay and improving consistency could mark an important change in private children proceedings. It is a welcome move forward, but only if one principle runs through every case: Evidence must come before presumption. The Family Court cannot safely operate on

Children don’t live on tax thresholds. So why is the child-maintenance system still so heavily dependent on tax thresholds? I was disappointed by the BBC Panorama programme Child Maintenance: Parents Under Pressure. The programme rightly highlighted the enormous pressure that child-maintenance disputes can place on families. However it missed what I believe is one of the most important issues in the modern child-maintenance debate. There was little focus on:- Self-employed pa

Following the Daily Express coverage of the growing debate around Child Maintenance Service reform, and the Great British PAC petition calling for a fairer system for both parents, there is an opportunity to have a much bigger conversation about what genuine CMS reform should look like. The principle behind child maintenance is simple; Both parents have a responsibility to support their children. However the system used to determine that responsibility is anything but simple

A Call for a Mandatory Three-Tier Evidence-Based Child Maintenance Assessment Framework By Deanna Newell Founder – DN Family Law Campaign Lead – Reform That Works www.dnfamilylaw.co.uk Bright Blue is proposing major changes to taxation → Government is considering how different forms of income should be treated → therefore Government should also examine whether CMS adequately assesses complex income → introduce a three-tier evidence-based system. Children Should Not Lose Out B

By Deanna Newell Founder, DN Family Law | Campaign Lead – Reform That Works A campaign for a fairer, safer and more evidence-led system For more than a year, I have been campaigning for meaningful reform of the Family Justice and Child Maintenance systems. My campaign, Reform That Works, was created around a simple principle: Children deserve a system that understands their real circumstances — and families deserve a system that is fair, evidence-led, proportionate and focuse

We need to talk about the victims that nobody wants to talk about. Domestic abuse is not exclusively a women’s issue. Men can be victims. Women can be perpetrators. Children can become victims too. The latest ONS figures for England and Wales estimate that 1.5 million men experienced domestic abuse in the year ending March 2025, alongside 2.2 million women. Overall, around 3.8 million adults experienced domestic abuse. The Crime Survey - Domestic abuse victim characteristi

A message from the frontline of mental health care As someone who works within an NHS mental health crisis team I see first-hand what happens when people reach breaking point. Mental health crisis services save lives. They provide vital support to people during some of the most difficult moments of their lives. However, we must also recognise a wider reality: crisis services are often responding to the consequences of problems that have developed over many years. Hospitals an

Reform That Works: Building a Fairer, Safer and More Transparent Family Justice System Family justice decisions can change the course of a child’s life. When parents separate and disputes arise about finances, child arrangements or safeguarding, the system must have the right information to make informed decisions. However, many families experience a process where complex issues are not always identified early enough. Important questions about safeguarding, domestic abuse, co

Dear United Nations, I am writing to call for greater international recognition of the importance of evidence-based family justice systems that place children’s rights, safety and welfare at the centre of every decision. When families separate, children can experience some of the most difficult and uncertain periods of their lives. Separation can involve disputes about living arrangements, parental relationships, safeguarding concerns, domestic abuse, coercive control, econom

By Deanna Newell, Founder of DN Family Law Every week at DN Family Law, we hear from parents who tell remarkably similar stories. Their relationship has ended, but the conflict has not. One parent is trying to rebuild life after separation. The other continues to use the children as a means of power, control, intimidation or punishment. Too often, these cases are dismissed as simply being “high conflict.” however conflict and coercive control are not the same thing. Conflict

A child’s safety should never depend on assumptions, competing narratives or a system that identifies risk only after harm has occurred. Every time a child is harmed during court-ordered contact with an unsafe parent, society is left asking the same question: Why was contact prioritised over safety? This is not about one parent, one family or one individual decision. It is about whether our family justice system has the right processes to identify risk, understand complex fam

As the House of Lords examines the impact of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021, campaigners call for stronger assessment, earlier intervention, and a child-centred family justice system Why this matters now: Parliament examines whether children are truly being protected The House of Lords Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Committee is examining one of the most important questions facing family justice today: Are children who experience, witness or are affected by domestic abuse receiving the

By Deanna Newell, Founder of DN Family Law Child maintenance exists for one fundamental reason: children should continue to receive financial support from both parents after separation. The principle is simple. The reality for many families is not. The Child Maintenance Service was created at a time when many financial circumstances were more straightforward. For many families, income was primarily employment-based, with parents paid through PAYE, making earnings easier to id

A Call for Modernisation of Family Justice and Child Maintenance Systems Through a Mandatory Three-Tier Family Assessment Framework By Deanna Newell Founder - DN Family Law | Campaign Lead – Reform That Works Dear Members of Parliament and Secretary of State for Justice, I am writing to call for urgent consideration of a more modern, evidence-based approach to family justice and child maintenance reform. The Government has demonstrated its commitment to improving access to ju

Executive Summary The proposed changes in the Courts and Tribunals Bill 2026 could represent one of the most significant reforms to private family law in a generation. Removing the presumption of parental involvement provides an opportunity to create a more evidence-based family justice system. However, legislative change alone will not resolve the wider challenges faced by modern families. A modern family justice system requires earlier identification of risk, improved safeg

By Deanna Newell Founder - DN Family Law When politicians speak about protecting taxpayers’ money, they rightly call for stronger action against fraud and abuse. We hear billions of pounds are lost through fraud each year. We hear promises of tougher enforcement, better investigations and greater accountability. But there is one area that receives far less attention. The Child Maintenance Service. Every day, thousands of children’s financial futures depend on a system that of

By Deanna Newell Founder - DN Family Law Introduction When child maintenance is discussed, the debate often becomes divided between paying parents and receiving parents. It should not. At the heart of this issue are children who deserve financial security, stability and protection. The purpose of child maintenance should be simple: to ensure children receive the support they need, while ensuring assessments are fair, transparent and based on the true circumstances of each fam

By Deanna Newell Founder - DN Family Law The Prime Minister’s proposal to consider increasing the personal tax-free allowance from £12,570 to £25,000 could be welcome news for millions of workers, families and small business owners by allowing people to keep more of what they earn could ease financial pressures during the cost-of-living crisis. DN Family Law supports measures that help hardworking people. However, this announcement also shines a spotlight on a much bigger iss

By Deanna Newell Founder - DN Family Law | Campaign Lead – Reform That Works BCP Council has approved a new five-year Domestic Abuse Strategy (2026–2031) focused on prevention, survivor support and tackling perpetrators. It is a welcome commitment that recognises domestic abuse as a serious public health and safeguarding issue. The strategy includes:- Earlier intervention and prevention Improved professional training Education for children and young people Greater public awar

It’s Time to Follow the Money The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) was created to ensure that children receive financial support from both parents after separation. That principle is one that almost everyone agrees with. So why are some children still growing up in financial hardship while parents with far greater financial means can, in some cases, be assessed on a declared income of just £12,570 ? The answer is uncomfortable. The current Child Maintenance Service largely rel