Senior family judge reaffirms goal of having Family Drug and Alcohol Court in every area
The President of the Family Division, Sir Andrew McFarlane, has expressed frustration that there is a Family Drug and Alcohol Court (FDAC) in only 20% of areas, saying it remains his goal that there is one in every area.
In a speech to the Resolution Conference 2025 in Birmingham last week (16 May), Sir Andrew said: “The essence of FDAC is that where a parent is suitable for, and willing to engage in, therapeutic intervention, an expert team works with that parent with the aim of achieving sufficient change in their addictive behaviour by the time of the final care hearing so that the care plan will be one of rehabilitation rather than adoption.
“For over 15 years it has been acknowledged that, for the few parents who are suitable candidates, referral to FDAC can be a life-changing intervention to the benefit of the parent, the child who is the subject of proceedings, any older children who have not yet been adopted and those that may be born to that parent in the future.”
The Family President noted that FDAC had been the subject of more research than any other aspect of family justice, but added that the results were uniformly positive, "both in human terms but also financially".
He cited research showing that FDAC saves the State money so that for every pound spent, over £3.20 is said to be saved.
Sir Andrew said: “There should be an FDAC court in every area, yet, frustratingly, the number remains at around 20% – with an FDAC opening in one area often coinciding with the depressing news that an existing FDAC in another area has had to close.
“The penny has recently dropped with me that in almost every case, whilst the presenting problem will be one of addiction, the underlying history will be one of chronic domestic abuse. If that is right, then, even in cases where the victim has not become addicted to drugs and/or alcohol, the FDAC model may well be a valuable channel to enable a parent to break the cycle of abuse.
“Domestic abuse is, rightly, a high priority issue for government and I have been keen to promote the ‘DA’ in the middle of FDAC, not only as a means of addressing ‘drugs and alcohol’, but also cases where the ‘DA’ stands for domestic abuse. It therefore remains my goal for there to be an FDAC in every court area.”
In other child protection-related observations, the Family President noted that a stage of consolidation and progress had been reached in applying the recommendations of the PLWG [Public Law Working Group] aimed at ensuring that local authorities only apply to the court for a public law order when they have thoroughly assessed the child’s circumstances and the options for intervention other than coming to court.
“This approach has landed well, and the volume of public law applications has reduced significantly,” he said.
“Courts are now, also, far more frequently accepting pre-proceedings assessment work undertaken by, or on behalf of, the local authority, so that such assessments do not need to be repeated (ie are not ‘necessary’) within the court process.”
He added: “These developments, along with the concerted effort that is being made by one and all to re-connect with the structure and targets of the Public Law Outline, are producing real gains so that, as I have explained, the backlogs are reducing and we are better able to determine these most important cases within a sensible timetable for the child.”
In April this year Liverpool became the latest area to launch an FDAC.
