In his final Presidential Guidance issued on 27th July, Sir James Munby announced that the Financial Remedies Pilot, which is currently confined to the West Midlands, would soon be extended to eight other court centres.
Following further consultation, I am now pleased to announce that I have today given the ‘green light’ for the pilot to start working in each of these eight courts. The lead judge in each court will now liaise with Mostyn J and HHJ Hess to coordinate the detailed local arrangements.
In essence the new scheme is a ticketing and allocation regime designed to ensure that all Financial Remedy cases are case managed and heard by a suitably experienced judge. The positive reports of the operation of the Birmingham Pilot auger well for its replication elsewhere. I am very grateful to HHJ Robin Rolland and DJ Jane Ingram who have led this work in Birmingham just as I am to the judges who will now take up the similar task in the new Pilot courts.
Sir Andrew McFarlane
President of the Family Division
1 November 2018
Pilot Centres as follows:
| Pilot | Centre | Covering the following DFJ areas | FRC Lead Judge |
|---|---|---|---|
| East Midlands | Nottingham | Nottingham Derby Leicester Lincoln Northampton |
HHJ Mark Rogers |
| West Midlands | Birmingham | Birmingham Coventry Wolverhampton Worcester Stoke |
HHJ Robin Rowland |
| Cheshire/Merseyside | Liverpool | Liverpool | HHJ Andrew Greensmith |
| North-east (1) | Sheffield | Sheffield Hull |
DJ Stephen Rodgers |
| North-east (2) | Leeds | Leeds York |
DJ Helen Wood |
| North-east (3) | Newcastle | Newcastle Teesside |
DJ Nicola Shaw |
| London | The CFC | CFC East London West London |
HHJ Martin O’Dwyer |
| South-east Wales | Newport | Cardiff | HHJ Jonathan Furness QC |
| South-west Wales | Swansea | Swansea | HHJ Malcolm Sharpe |