Public Law Outline measures introduced in 2023 to tackle delays only partially successful, Local Government Lawyer research suggests

In November 2022, Sir Andrew demanded that the vast majority of childcare proceedings be concluded within the statutory 26-week deadline.

To overcome the level of delay in the system, he outlined a '20-point plan' for family practitioners to follow in all cases from January 2023, to reconnect with the Public Law Outline (PLO).

Local Government Lawyer subsequently conducted a survey to assess the viability of the proposed changes in practice. This research has now been repeated three years on.

Asked where delays were predominantly occurring in the 2023 survey, respondents noted delays across all stages - with the ‘Evidence gathering / Pre­ proceedings stage’, the ‘Case Management Hearing’ and the ‘Issues Resolution Hearing’ being seen as having the highest number of delays.

In 2026, survey respondents again highlighted the ‘Evidence Gathering/Pre-proceedings Stage’ as the area with the highest instance of delay - with 69% of respondents observing delays in this area, followed by the Issues Resolution Hearing (60%).

Legal professionals outlined the following key obstacles in the ‘Evidence Gathering/Pre-proceedings Stage’:

• Late identification of kinship carers
• Lack of parental engagement until they are "in the face of the court"
• Delays in obtaining Police, Health and DBS records
• Chronic staff turnover and excessive social worker caseloads
• Delays in parents instructing lawyers

Looking at the '20-point plan', 60% of respondents in the 2023 survey had said the 26-week target for a case to conclude would be either “quite” or “very” difficult to achieve.

Three years on, when asked how realistic the 26-week deadline has been to achieve in practice, 69% said it has been either “quite” or “very” difficult to achieve.

Despite the difficulties, according to the Family President’s latest ‘View From’, written a short time before his retirement on 13 April 2026, the average case duration for public law was 32 weeks in December 2025, down from 39 in December 2022.

The results of Local Government Lawyer’s 2026 survey suggest there is still a long way to go to achieve the 26-week target, despite universal agreement that change is necessary.

The 2026 survey can be read here.

Lottie Winson