The Parenting Hearings Programme (PHP) pilot is a new process initiated by the Principal Family Court Judge, Judge P Boshier. It commenced in six courts on 1 November 2006. The pilot is intended to provide an early response to urgent applications under the Care of Children Act 2004, and to cases not resolved through counselling or mediation.
A key feature of the PHP is to deal with cases faster than the usual court system, thus reducing damage to co-parenting and parent–child relationships, and producing better results for children. PHP also intends to be less adversarial, and provide opportunities for parties to participate more in the process, particularly at the Preliminary Hearing.
The evaluation included exploratory work at two PHP courts, followed by key informant interviews, a postal survey of parents, an Internet survey of Family Court lawyers involved in PHP, and discussions with a small number of key PHP stakeholders. Statistical analysis of Case Management System (CMS) data was also undertaken. The statistical analysis report does not include definitive statements on the effects of PHP versus non-PHP because the small number and variability of PHP cases meant that a robust non-PHP comparison group could not be identified.