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Family’s court trauma raised in Parliament
PRESS RELEASE FROM ALISTAIR STRATHERN MP
TUESDAY 15th SEPTEMBER 2026
The experience of a local family repeatedly let down by the Family Court System were raised in Parliament today by Alistair Strathern, MP for Hitchin.
The mother and daughter have been waiting for a non-molestation order since November 2025, in which time they endured eight ineffective court dates. On each of these occasions, the family had attended proceedings only to hear that due to process failings, the non-molestation papers have not been ready or could not be served. Some of the ineffectiveness includes the court being virtual and the constituent not being sent the video link.
Strathern raised their experience with the Prisons Minister Jake Richards MP, securing the family a meeting with the Minister to share their experiences.
The Government has committed to fixing issues facing the Family Court service across the country, announcing plans earlier this year to roll out ‘Child Focused Courts’ to deliver quicker and better outcomes for children and families following successful pilots. Strathern has stated he is determined to ensure local families experiences of current court issues are at the heart of the Government’s work on this, and has spoken out on the need to fix the broken family court system in Parliament.
Alistair Strathern MP said:
“The broken family court system is having heartbreaking consequences for too many families locally.”
“To have to attend court not once, not twice, but eight times to try in vain to have crucial papers served simply isn’t good enough.”
“I’m glad the Minister has agreed to meet with the family and hear directly the devastating impact these repeated failings have had.”
“It cannot be right that too many families face such unjustifiable challenges securing crucial protections and justice. We must fix our broken family court system, and I’m determined to ensure local families experiences are at the heart of this work.”
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