CAFCASS (the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support
Service) have recently published their private law data for August
2020 (which can be viewed online here). This records the amount of new cases
started at Court in respect of private children disputes, which
broadly speaking covers any dispute between those with care of a
child, for example disputes as to child arrangements, schooling and
relocation (both domestic and international). The data shows a
slight increase in private law children applications as against
August 2019.
Placed in the wider context, this shows a continuing trend of
increased activity in the Courts in respect of private children
disputes. In April and May 2020 there was a decline in this kind of
application (almost certainly as a result of COVID-19) but in June,
July and now August, there has been an increase in the number of
applications made as against the previous year. Looking more
widely, cases of this type have increased by over
