MPs seek child maintenance reform in court backlog plan

Mothers seeking child maintenance face repeated adjournments and months of waiting in the magistrates’ courts, MPs told the House of Assembly as proposed reforms were introduced to reduce delays and allow remote hearings.

Parliamentarians Dr Shantal Munro-Knight and Tyra Trotman said the everyday experience of people seeking justice remained a measure of governance, alongside the passage of national laws.

Dr Munro-Knight, Christ Church South MP, highlighted the toll administrative delays take on vulnerable families. Drawing on cases from her constituency clinics, she described young mothers facing multiple adjournments over several months while seeking child maintenance.