Written question asked by Mary Creagh (Labour) on Friday, 30 May 2008, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 3 June 2008. It was answered by Bridget Prentice (Labour) on Tuesday, 10 June 2008 on behalf of the Ministry of Justice.

Court Proceedings: Separation

Question: (2) how many court proceedings under Schedule 1 of the Children Act 1989 were undertaken in relation to a dispute arising from separating cohabiting couples in (a) 2005-06 and (b) 2006-07.

Answer: Information on court proceedings issued under the Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996 is not held centrally, because court databases do not identify proceedings issued in relation to this particular legislation. This information could therefore only be compiled at disproportionate cost.Information on proceedings issued under Schedule 1 of the Children Act 1989 is available on a calendar year rather than financial year basis. There were 1,288 private law applications made under this Schedule during 2005, 1,221 during 2006 and a provisional total of 1,258 during 2007.These figures cover all family courts in England and Wales and count the number of children on whose behalf applications were made, rather than the number of court cases. Applications can be made by separating couples who had previously cohabited, by parents who had never lived together and, in certain unusual circumstances, by divorced parents. However, it is not possible to identify these groups separately within the available data.

Secondary information