§ 110. Mr. Lipsonasked the Attorney-General if he is aware of the hardship caused to many men in the Services by the long delay which still exists in obtaining divorce; and what steps he is taking to speed up the procedure.
The Solicitor-GeneralThe total number of Service divorce suits pending at 30th September last was 40,751. This figure includes 14,367 cases with the three Service authorities, at home and abroad, and 26,384 cases with the Law Society.
The Government are well aware of the hardship caused by the long delays in disposing of Service divorce cases, and they greatly deplore it. Early in this year the Government decided to take energetic steps open to them to clear off the arrears of Service cases, and I refer to the answer given to the hon. Member for Central Hackney (Mr. H. Hynd) on 27th February last.
The Law Society have now succeeded in extending their Services Divorce Department from six units to 31 units, and now have an organisation capable of handling the cases at the rate of more than 20,000 per annum. But full expansion of the Department has only just been achieved, and its effect will not be felt to the full for some months. In the first nine months of this year, however, the Department have obtained 2,823 decrees' nisi, more than half of the total number of decrees obtained during the whole of the previous four years. In addition, a number of procedural improvements have been effected, including the opening of a special Services Branch of the Divorce Registry; and the reduction of the waiting period between decree nisi and decree absolute from six months to six weeks. The Denning Committee have been invited to consider other procedural reforms designed to expedite the hearing of the suits and the reduction of costs. As already announced, Special Commissioners have been appointed to assist the Divorce 209W Judges in London, and special arrangements for hearing divorce on circuit have been made.