Northern Ireland Courts and Tribunals Service
Children Order Quarterly Bulletin
April - June 2010
(Provisional Figures)
Summary
- There were 1,355 applications (Fig 1) entered during the period, of which:
167 = Public
1,188 = Private
- There were 1,159 applications dealt with during the period, of which:
174 = Public
985 = Private
- There were 154 cases transferred during the period with 161 reasons for
transfer (Fig 2).
- Of the own motion orders made, 9% were in relation to Contact issues.
- The majority of interim orders made were in relation to Contact (2,201)
and Care (1,593) issues
Figure 1: Number of Applications received by court tier
| Family Proceedings |
93% |
| Family Care Centre |
3% |
| High Court |
4% |
Court time spent on Children Order business between April and June 2010:
Total time = 1257 hours 27 minutes
Average sitting time = 2 hours 32 minutes
- There were 2,768 orders made from April and June 2010.
- The average waiting time in weeks from lodgement
to disposal for public law cases was 35 weeks.
- The average waiting time in weeks between lodgement
to disposal for private law cases was 36 weeks.
- There were 1,437 children involved in Children Order
Proceedings during the period, of which 37% were under the age
of five.
Figure 2: Reasons for Transfer
| Other |
Point of Law |
Urgency |
Separate Representation for Child |
Returned to Lower Court |
Jurisdiction |
Gravity |
Convenience |
Consolidation |
Complexity |
| 0 |
4 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
11 |
3 |
9 |
34 |
88 |
Table 1a: Applications entered and disposed
| |
Number of applications entered |
Number of disposals |
| Private Law |
Family Proceedings Court |
1085 |
857 |
| Family Care Centre |
32 |
76 |
| High Court |
71 |
52 |
| Total |
1188 |
985 |
| Public Law |
Family Proceedings Court |
146 |
121 |
| Family Care Centre |
9 |
39 |
| High Court |
12 |
14 |
| Total |
167 |
174 |
|
|
|
|
Private law = residence, contact, specific issues, prohibited steps, parental responsibility, financial contribution, guardianship, family assistance, non-molestation and occupation orders
Table 1b: Applications entered by processing office and disposed by court venue
| |
Public Law |
Private Law |
|
| Number of applications entered |
Number of disposals |
Number of applications entered |
Number of disposals |
| Family Proceedings Court |
Antrim |
0 |
0 |
7 |
2 |
| Armagh |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Ballymena |
29 |
16 |
128 |
117 |
| Bangor |
0 |
0 |
2 |
2 |
| Belfast |
30 |
28 |
300 |
235 |
| Coleraine |
0 |
0 |
13 |
5 |
| Craigavon |
8 |
10 |
79 |
58 |
| Downpatrick |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
| Dungannon |
22 |
21 |
86 |
52 |
| Larne |
0 |
0 |
3 |
3 |
| Limavady |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
| Lisburn |
8 |
5 |
85 |
54 |
| Londonderry |
13 |
9 |
151 |
115 |
| Magherafelt |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Newry |
22 |
13 |
102 |
75 |
| Newtownards |
13 |
17 |
126 |
137 |
| Omagh |
1 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
| Venue total |
146 |
121 |
1085 |
857 |
| Family Care Centre |
Belfast |
5 |
28 |
17 |
45 |
| Craigavon |
3 |
8 |
13 |
19 |
| Dungannon |
1 |
1 |
0 |
4 |
| Londonderry |
0 |
2 |
2 |
8 |
| Venue total |
9 |
39 |
32 |
76 |
| High Court |
Royal Courts of Justice |
12 |
14 |
71 |
52 |
| Venue total |
12 |
14 |
71 |
52 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Private law = residence, contact, specific issues, prohibited steps, parental responsibility, financial contribution, guardianship, family assistance, non-molestation and occupation orders.
Where court venue is missing, disposal defaults to processing office.
Table 1c: Applications entered and disposed
| |
Public Law |
Private Law |
| Number of applications entered |
Number of disposals |
Number of applications entered |
Number of disposals |
| Northern Ireland |
167 |
174 |
1188 |
985 |
Table 2: Reasons for transfer [1]
| Transferred from |
Complexity |
Consolidation |
Convenience |
Gravity |
Jurisdiction |
Returned to Lower Court |
Separate Representation for Child |
Urgency |
Point of Law |
Public Interest |
Other |
Total |
| Family Proceedings Court |
Antrim |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
| Armagh |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Ballymena |
7 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
11 |
| Belfast |
28 |
6 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
4 |
3 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
45 |
| Coleraine |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Craigavon |
4 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
6 |
| Downpatrick |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Dungannon |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
| Larne |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Lisburn |
12 |
10 |
5 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
28 |
| Londonderry |
5 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
10 |
| Newry |
7 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
12 |
| Newtownards |
10 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
11 |
| Omagh |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
| Venue total |
74 |
30 |
6 |
1 |
7 |
0 |
4 |
3 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
127 |
| Family Care Centre |
Belfast |
5 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
2 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
14 |
| Craigavon |
6 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
12 |
| Dungannon |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Londonderry |
3 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
5 |
| Venue total |
14 |
4 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
31 |
| High Court |
Office of Care and Protection |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
| Venue total |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
| Northern Ireland Total |
88 |
34 |
9 |
3 |
11 |
5 |
4 |
3 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
161 |
[1] Total number of reasons for transfer. There may be more than one reason for each case. There were 156 cases transferred during the period.
Table 3: Total own motion orders
| |
Own motion orders |
| Parental Responsibility |
3 |
| Contact: Permission |
19 |
| Contact: Refusal |
0 |
| Residence |
24 |
| Prohibited Steps |
1 |
| Specific Issues |
6 |
| Family Assistance |
0 |
| Care |
27 |
| Supervision |
0 |
| Education Supervision |
0 |
| Declaration of Parentage |
0 |
| Child Assessment |
9 |
| Emergency Protection |
9 |
| Extension of EPO |
0 |
| Recovery |
0 |
| Secure Accommodation |
0 |
| Article 53 Contract |
0 |
| Appointment of Guardian |
42 |
| Contribution and other Financial |
0 |
| Non-Molestation Order |
0 |
| Occupation Articles |
0 |
| Article 56 Investigations |
0 |
| Exclusion Requirement |
0 |
| Ex Parte Application refused |
0 |
| Other orders, applications etc |
83 |
| Total |
223 |
Table 4: Total interim orders
| |
Interim orders |
| Parental Responsibility |
3 |
| Contact: Permission |
2201 |
| Contact: Refusal |
0 |
| Residence |
412 |
| Prohibited Steps |
113 |
| Specific Issues |
3 |
| Family Assistance |
0 |
| Care |
1593 |
| Supervision |
37 |
| Education Supervision |
0 |
| Child Assessment |
0 |
| Emergency Protection |
0 |
| Extension of EPO |
0 |
| Recovery |
0 |
| Secure Accommodation |
55 |
| Article 53 Contract |
0 |
| Appointment of Guardian |
0 |
| Contribution and other Financial |
0 |
| Non-Molestation Order |
17 |
| Occupation Articles |
0 |
| Article 56 Investigations |
0 |
| Exclusion Requirement |
0 |
| Other orders, applications etc |
0 |
| Total |
4434 |
Table 5a: Sitting times disposed of by court venue
| |
Total sitting time |
Average sitting time |
Total sittings |
| Family Proceedings Court |
Antrim |
17:10 |
05:43 |
3 |
| Ballymena |
63:50:00 |
04:34 |
14 |
| Banbridge@Newry |
00:25 |
00:08 |
3 |
| Belfast |
170:05:00 |
03:20 |
51 |
| Coleraine |
25:40:00 |
03:13 |
8 |
| Craigavon |
39:20:00 |
02:19 |
17 |
| Dungannon |
33:45:00 |
03:45 |
9 |
| Larne |
16:20 |
02:43 |
6 |
| Lisburn |
49:50:00 |
03:19 |
15 |
| Londonderry |
70:00:00 |
02:48 |
25 |
| Newry |
72:05:00 |
03:17 |
22 |
| Newtownards |
88:50:00 |
02:24 |
37 |
| Omagh |
51:50:00 |
03:59 |
13 |
| Venue total |
699:10:00 |
03:08 |
223 |
| Family Care Centre |
Belfast |
181:55:00 |
02:28 |
74 |
| Craigavon |
123:25:00 |
05:22 |
23 |
| Dungannon |
05:25 |
01:21 |
4 |
| Enniskillen |
00:05 |
00:05 |
1 |
| Londonderry |
19:55 |
00:40 |
30 |
| Omagh |
02:24 |
02:24 |
1 |
| Venue total |
333:09:00 |
02:30 |
133 |
| High Court |
Royal Courts of Justice |
225:08:00 |
01:36 |
141 |
| Venue total |
225:08:00 |
01:36 |
141 |
Table 5b: Sitting times and business disposed of in Northern Ireland
|
Total sitting time |
Average sitting time |
Total sittings |
| Northern Ireland |
1257:27 |
2:32 |
497 |
[1] Total sittings include both minority and majority sittings
Table 6: Orders Made
| |
Orders Made |
Total |
| By Consent |
Other |
| Orders Made |
Adjourn Generally |
0 |
13 |
13 |
| Article 20 Non-Molestation Order |
0 |
11 |
11 |
| Article 53 Contact with a Child in Care |
0 |
29 |
29 |
| Care Order |
58 |
54 |
112 |
| Contact Order |
574 |
232 |
806 |
| Declaration of Parentage |
15 |
8 |
23 |
| Discharging a Care Order |
6 |
5 |
11 |
| Discharge Non Molestation Occupation Order |
0 |
10 |
10 |
| Discharge Prohibited Steps Order |
10 |
1 |
11 |
| Dismiss Order (Children Order) |
15 |
63 |
78 |
| Education Supervision Order |
0 |
20 |
20 |
| Emergency Protection Order |
3 |
34 |
37 |
| Emergency Protection Order - Out of Hours |
0 |
4 |
4 |
| Ex-Parte Application Refused |
6 |
71 |
77 |
| Extension of an Emergency Protection Order |
4 |
1 |
5 |
| Family Assistance Order |
4 |
1 |
5 |
| Financial Provision |
0 |
15 |
15 |
| Leave to change surname by which child is known |
5 |
4 |
9 |
| Leave to remove Child from the UK |
0 |
2 |
2 |
| Leave to withdraw |
183 |
109 |
292 |
| Non Molestation Order |
0 |
5 |
5 |
| Order of No Order (Final Order) |
49 |
10 |
59 |
| Order for Leave of Court |
0 |
28 |
28 |
| Order or Directions Final |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Order terminating appointment of GAL |
114 |
77 |
191 |
| Other Order |
8 |
118 |
126 |
| Parental Responsibility Order |
54 |
23 |
77 |
| Proceedings dismissed on the merits (Final Order) |
5 |
20 |
25 |
| Prohibited Steps Order |
15 |
42 |
57 |
| Recovery of a Child |
0 |
1 |
1 |
| Refusal of Article 3 Certification |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Residence Order |
313 |
169 |
482 |
| Secure Accommodation Order |
5 |
5 |
10 |
| Specific Issues Order |
35 |
35 |
70 |
| Strike out |
17 |
25 |
42 |
| Supervision Order |
17 |
8 |
25 |
| Total |
1515 |
1253 |
2768 |
Table 7a: Average time in weeks from lodgement to disposal of cases by processing office
| |
Public law |
Private law |
| Average time weeks |
Number of cases |
Average time weeks |
Number of cases |
| Family Proceedings Court |
Antrim |
0 |
0 |
23.4 |
2 |
| Ballymena |
25.9 |
16 |
18.4 |
117 |
| Bangor |
0 |
0 |
10 |
2 |
| Belfast |
29.1 |
28 |
21.3 |
235 |
| Coleraine |
0 |
0 |
12.4 |
5 |
| Craigavon |
26.7 |
10 |
32.5 |
58 |
| Downpatrick |
14 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
| Dungannon |
26.6 |
21 |
17.2 |
52 |
| Larne |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
| Lisburn |
34.2 |
5 |
23.4 |
54 |
| Londonderry |
23.9 |
9 |
17.5 |
115 |
| Newry |
20.8 |
13 |
28.8 |
75 |
| Newtownards |
33.1 |
17 |
26.8 |
137 |
| Omagh |
0 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
| Total |
27.2 |
121 |
22.4 |
857 |
| Family Care Centre |
Belfast |
55.5 |
28 |
45.3 |
45 |
| Craigavon |
79.7 |
8 |
28 |
19 |
| Dungannon |
54.1 |
1 |
64.3 |
4 |
| Londonderry |
60.3 |
2 |
27 |
8 |
| Total |
60.7 |
39 |
40 |
76 |
| High Court |
Royal Courts of Justice |
47.9 |
14 |
41.8 |
52 |
| Total |
47.9 |
14 |
41.8 |
52 |
Nb Cases disposed will include time spent at the lower court tier.
Table 7b: Average time in weeks from lodgement to disposal of cases in Northern Ireland
|
Public law |
Private law |
| Average time weeks |
Number of cases |
Average time weeks |
Number of cases |
| Northern Ireland |
36.3 |
174 |
24.8 |
985 |
Nb Cases disposed will include time spent at the lower court tier.
Table 8: Age and gender of children
| |
0-4 |
05-Aug |
09-Dec |
13-16 |
Total |
| Male |
279 |
191 |
159 |
88 |
717 |
| Female |
247 |
201 |
163 |
106 |
717 |
| Unknown |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
| Total |
529 |
392 |
322 |
194 |
1437 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Appendix 1 - Average time in weeks from lodgement to disposal by venue for Care Cases
| |
Average time in weeks |
Number of cases |
| Family Proceedings Court |
Ballymena |
48.5 |
6 |
| Belfast |
41.9 |
14 |
| Craigavon |
41.1 |
5 |
| Dungannon |
69.2 |
6 |
| Lisburn |
156.9 |
1 |
| Londonderry |
39.2 |
2 |
| Newtownards |
40.8 |
12 |
| Newry |
41.8 |
6 |
| Total |
47.6 |
52 |
| Family Care Centre |
Belfast |
58.3 |
24 |
| Craigavon |
79.7 |
8 |
| Dungannon |
54.1 |
1 |
| Londonderry |
60.3 |
2 |
| Total |
63.2 |
35 |
| High Court |
Office of Care & Protection |
71 |
8 |
| Total |
71 |
8 |
|
|
|
|
Nb Cases disposed will include time spent at the lower court tier. This table includes all care applications irrespective of the order made.
Appendix 1 - Average time in weeks from lodgement to disposal for Care Cases
|
Average time weeks |
Number of cases |
| Northern Ireland |
55.3 |
95 |
Nb Cases disposed will include time spent at the lower court tier. This table includes all care applications irrespective of the order made.
Appendix 2 - Average time in weeks spent at the court tier in which the case was finally disposed
| |
Public Law |
Private Law |
| Family Proceedings Court |
Antrim |
0 |
21.2 |
| Ballymena |
25.9 |
18.3 |
| Bangor |
0 |
10 |
| Belfast |
29.1 |
20.8 |
| Coleraine |
0 |
11.9 |
| Craigavon |
26.7 |
32.5 |
| Downpatrick |
14 |
0 |
| Dungannon |
26.6 |
17.2 |
| Larne |
0 |
0 |
| Lisburn |
34.2 |
23.4 |
| Londonderry |
23.9 |
17.5 |
| Newry |
20.8 |
27.6 |
| Newtownards |
33 |
26.1 |
| Omagh |
0 |
0 |
| Total |
27.2 |
22 |
| Family Care Centre |
Belfast |
30 |
33.9 |
| Craigavon |
55.9 |
20.3 |
| Dungannon |
52.1 |
26.8 |
| Londonderry |
33.6 |
14.9 |
| Total |
36.1 |
28.2 |
| High Court |
Royal Courts of Justice |
39.8 |
25.6 |
| Total |
39.8 |
25.6 |
Appendix 2 - Average time in weeks spent at the court tier in which the case was finally disposed
|
Public Law |
Private Law |
| Northern Ireland |
30.2 |
22.7 |