A Dispute Resolution Appointment (DRA) is the hearing in private law children proceedings in England and Wales that follows the filing of a section 7 welfare report or other expert report. Practice Direction 12B, the Child Arrangements Programme, provides that “the Court shall list the application for a Dispute Resolution Appointment (‘DRA’) to follow the preparation of section 7 or other expert report”, or attendance at a parenting programme, “if this is considered likely to be helpful in the interests of the child”.[1] A Dispute Resolution Appointment is the point at which the parties first have an independent assessment of the child’s welfare in front of them, and Practice Direction 12B envisages that “most cases” will be listed for one.[1]
At the DRA the court identifies the key issues that remain, considers whether the hearing can itself be the final hearing, tries to resolve or narrow the issues, including by hearing evidence, and gives whatever directions are needed for a final hearing.[1] The author of the section 7 report attends “only if directed to do so by the Court”.[1] Many cases conclude at this stage with an order reflecting the report’s recommendations, either by agreement or after short submissions; those that do not are timetabled to a final hearing at which the report author usually gives oral evidence.[1][2]
Definition and purpose
The DRA is the second of the three standard hearings in the Child Arrangements Programme, between the First Hearing Dispute Resolution Appointment and the final hearing. Its function follows from its timing. At the FHDRA the court has only the application, the response and the Cafcass safeguarding letter; contested facts are unknown and the child’s wishes have not been independently ascertained. By the DRA the court has a report addressing the specific issues it identified, which changes the position of both parties and frequently produces agreement.[1][3] Cafcass describes the stage in its guidance for parents as a hearing “where you may be encouraged to try and resolve or at least narrow the issues in dispute”.[2]
Paragraph 19.3 sets out what the court does at the DRA. It will: identify the key issues to be determined and the extent to which they can be resolved or narrowed; consider whether the DRA can be used as a final hearing; resolve or narrow the issues by hearing evidence; identify the evidence to be heard on the issues that remain; and give final case management directions, including for further evidence, a statement of facts and issues, a witness template, skeleton arguments, compliance with Practice Direction 27A on bundles, and the listing of the final hearing.[1] The hearing therefore combines conciliation, which continues from the FHDRA, with the pre-trial review function found in other kinds of litigation.
Like the FHDRA, the DRA is not privileged. Offers made and positions taken at it may be referred to later, and the court may record concessions in its order.[1] Unlike the FHDRA, the Cafcass officer is not routinely present, so the conciliation is conducted by the judge or legal adviser and, where the parties are represented, by their advocates.
Legal basis
The DRA is a creature of practice direction rather than of the rules or statute. Paragraph 19 of Practice Direction 12B, made under Part 12 of the Family Procedure Rules 2010, provides for it; the rules themselves refer to directions hearings generally and to the court’s duty to set a date for the final hearing, or a period within which it is to take place, at every hearing.[1][4] Rule 12.14 governs attendance and the court’s power to proceed in a party’s absence, and Part 22 gives the court power to control the evidence, including at a DRA at which evidence is heard to narrow the issues.[5][6]
The welfare principle and checklist in section 1 of the Children Act 1989 apply to any order made at the DRA, whether by consent or after argument, and section 1(2) requires the court to have regard to the principle that delay is likely to prejudice the child’s welfare, which is why Practice Direction 12B discourages adjourning the DRA for reviews or addendum reports unless a further hearing is “necessary and for a clear purpose”.[7][1] Where domestic abuse has been alleged, Practice Direction 12J continues to apply, and paragraph 31 provides that hearings after a fact-finding should be before the same judge or presiding justice except where delay would harm the child.[8]
When a DRA is listed
A DRA is listed at the FHDRA in any case where the court orders a section 7 report, another expert report, or attendance at Planning Together for Children (in Wales, Working Together for Children), and considers a further hearing after that step “likely to be helpful in the interests of the child”.[1][9] Practice Direction 12B poses the question at the FHDRA in these terms: “Should the application be listed for a Dispute Resolution Appointment (it is envisaged that most cases will be so listed)?”, with the alternative being to list straight away for a final hearing.[1] Where a fact-finding hearing has been held, the DRA normally follows the section 7 report that is ordered in the light of the findings.[8]
The date is fixed by reference to the report. Section 7 reports are ordered for filing on a date set by the court, which varies with Cafcass capacity in the area, and the DRA is listed shortly after that date so that the parties have time to read the report and take advice.[1] Paragraph 15 requires the timetable to have regard to significant events in the child’s life, such as the start of a school year, and to the principle that the dispute should be resolved “as soon as safe and possible”.[1]
In the Child Focused Courts areas, formerly the Pathfinder pilot, the Child Arrangements Programme does not apply and the stages are different: a Child Impact Report is prepared before the first hearing, and the judge decides at that hearing whether a further hearing is needed at all.[10]
Before the hearing
The central document is the section 7 report. Cafcass sends it to the court and to the parties (or their solicitors) by the date directed, and advises parents who disagree with it to “let your solicitor (if you have one) and the court know what you are unhappy about” so that the judge or magistrates can take the concerns into account.[3] The report is confidential to the proceedings and may not be shown to anyone outside them without the court’s permission, under rule 12.73 of the Family Procedure Rules.[11] Where a party wishes the report author to attend the DRA, or to answer written questions before it, an application should be made in advance, since the author attends “only if directed”.[1]
The FHDRA order usually directs each party to file a short statement setting out their response to the report and their proposals, and a position statement for the DRA. Practice Direction 27A applies to the DRA as to all family hearings: a bundle is prepared by the represented party (or, where all parties are litigants in person, by HMCTS if the court so directs), filed five working days before the hearing, with position statements limited to three pages in children proceedings and filed by 11am on the working day before.[12] Where the parties are close to agreement, a draft consent order can be lodged before the hearing so that the court can approve it with minimal argument.[1]
What happens on the day
The DRA is heard, where possible, by the judge or magistrates who conducted the FHDRA, in accordance with the objective of judicial continuity in Practice Direction 12B.[1] Both parties must attend.[5] The hearing typically begins with time outside court for the parties or their representatives to discuss the report’s recommendations. In court, the judge asks each side what remains in dispute, tests the objections to the report, and encourages agreement. If the parties agree, an order is drawn, scrutinised for the child’s welfare and safety, and the proceedings end. If they do not, the judge decides whether the remaining issues are narrow enough to be decided there and then, with or without brief oral evidence, or whether a final hearing must be listed.[1]
HMCTS guidance describes hearings before the final hearing as relatively informal, often in a small room, with the judge or magistrates addressed as “sir” or “madam”; parties are advised to arrive at least 30 minutes early and may be accompanied by a McKenzie Friend with the court’s approval.[13] The DRA is usually listed for between 30 minutes and an hour. Where the section 7 author has been directed to attend, the hearing is longer and the author may be questioned by each party on the report’s conclusions.[1]
Where the court hears evidence at a DRA to narrow the issues, the normal rules apply: witness statements stand as evidence-in-chief, the witness is questioned by the other party, and the court may limit the issues on which it will hear evidence under rule 22.1.[6] Where domestic abuse has been alleged, the prohibition on direct cross-examination of an alleged victim by an alleged perpetrator applies at a DRA as at any other hearing, and the court must consider special measures; see fact-finding hearing.[8]
Possible outcomes
| Outcome | When it is used | What happens next |
|---|---|---|
| Final order by consent | The parties accept the report’s recommendations or reach their own agreement; the court scrutinises the order under section 1 of the Children Act 1989[1][7] | Proceedings end; the order may include a family assistance order or monitoring under section 11H where the court considers follow-up necessary[1] |
| Final order after submissions | The remaining issues are narrow and can be decided on the papers and short argument, with the DRA used as the final hearing[1] | Proceedings end; a party may seek permission to appeal |
| Final order after limited oral evidence | One or two discrete factual or welfare issues can be resolved by hearing evidence at the DRA[1][6] | Proceedings end |
| Interim order and final directions | Substantial dispute remains | Statements, witness template, bundle and skeleton arguments directed; final hearing listed[1][12] |
| Addendum report or further assessment | Circumstances have changed or the report leaves a necessary question unanswered; discouraged unless for a clear purpose[1] | Further DRA or final hearing after the addendum |
| Adjournment for mediation or Planning Together for Children | The report suggests the parents could agree with help | Case returns if not resolved[1][9] |
| Rule 16.4 appointment | Conflict between the parents threatens the child’s interests and the child needs separate representation[1] | Children’s guardian appointed; final hearing listed |
The DRA as a final hearing
Paragraph 19.3 expressly requires the court to consider “whether the DRA can be used as a final hearing”.[1] This is possible where the section 7 report has resolved the factual uncertainty that existed at the FHDRA and the remaining dispute is about the detail of arrangements rather than their shape. In such a case the court may hear short evidence from each party, or none, and make a final order with reasons. The order must comply with section 1 of the Children Act 1989 and, where domestic abuse has been found or admitted, with paragraphs 36 to 40 of Practice Direction 12J, which require the court to explain how its findings have influenced the arrangements it has ordered.[7][8]
A party who wants to challenge the report’s recommendations, rather than accept them with modifications, is entitled to a hearing at which the author can be questioned, and a court that converts a DRA into a final hearing against the wishes of a party without giving them that opportunity risks a successful appeal for procedural unfairness. In practice, therefore, the DRA is used as a final hearing where both parties consent to that course or where the disagreement is confined to matters on which the report author’s oral evidence would add nothing.[1]
After the DRA
Where a final order is made, it takes effect immediately unless the court provides otherwise, and can later be varied on a fresh C100 or enforced on Form C79; see enforcing a child arrangements order. Where the case is listed for a final hearing, the DRA order sets the timetable: the date by which each party’s final statement must be filed and served, whether the section 7 author is to attend and on what issues, the witness template and time estimate, the party responsible for the bundle, and the date of the hearing.[1][12] Rule 22.10 provides that a witness whose statement has not been served in time may not be called without the court’s permission.[6]
Statistics
No official series counts DRAs. Two indirect measures exist. Cafcass reported 18,187 requests for section 7 reports in 2024-25, including 5,116 addendum reports, a fall of 9.1 per cent on the previous year; each initial request implies a DRA to follow.[14] The Ministry of Justice reported that the average private law case took 35 weeks from application to final order in January to March 2026, five weeks less than a year earlier, and that 52 per cent of cases were disposed of within 26 weeks.[15] Since the FHDRA takes place in week 5 or 6 and a section 7 report follows some weeks later, a case that settles at the DRA will commonly fall within that 26-week band, while one that proceeds to a contested final hearing will usually exceed it.[1]
See also
- First Hearing Dispute Resolution Appointment – the hearing at which a DRA is listed
- Section 7 report – the report the DRA follows
- Final hearing
- Fact-finding hearing
- Cafcass
- Position statement
- Court bundle
- Form C100
- Appeals
- Welfare checklist – applied to any order made at the DRA
- Child arrangements order
References
- Practice Direction 12B: Child Arrangements Programme. Ministry of Justice. Accessed 5 September 2026.
- What happens in private law proceedings. Cafcass. Accessed 5 September 2026.
- The court asks an FCA to write a report if your case goes beyond the first hearing (section 7 reports). Cafcass. Accessed 5 September 2026.
- Family Procedure Rules 2010, Part 12: Children proceedings except parental order proceedings and proceedings for applications in adoption, placement and related proceedings. Ministry of Justice. Accessed 5 September 2026.
- Family Procedure Rules 2010, rule 12.14: Attendance at hearings. legislation.gov.uk. Accessed 5 September 2026.
- Family Procedure Rules 2010, Part 22: Evidence. Ministry of Justice. Accessed 5 September 2026.
- Children Act 1989, section 1: Welfare of the child. legislation.gov.uk. Accessed 5 September 2026.
- Practice Direction 12J: Child arrangements and contact orders: domestic abuse and harm. Ministry of Justice. version of 28 April 2024. Accessed 5 September 2026.
- Cafcass launches Planning Together for Children on behalf of the Ministry of Justice. Cafcass. 2023. Accessed 5 September 2026.
- Judges welcome roll-out of Child Focused Courts. Courts and Tribunals Judiciary. 17 March 2026. Accessed 5 September 2026.
- Family Procedure Rules 2010, rule 12.73: Communication of information: general. legislation.gov.uk. Accessed 5 September 2026.
- Practice Direction 27A: Family proceedings: court bundles. Ministry of Justice. version in force 2 March 2026. Accessed 5 September 2026.
- Guide for separated parents: children and the family courts (CB7). HM Courts and Tribunals Service. updated 9 October 2024. Accessed 5 September 2026.
- Cafcass Annual Report and Accounts 2024-25. Cafcass. published 11 December 2025. Accessed 5 September 2026.
- Family Court Statistics Quarterly, January to March 2026. Ministry of Justice. 25 June 2026. Accessed 5 September 2026.
External links
This article is part of Family Court Wiki, published by Family Legal Ltd. It is general information about the law of England and Wales, not legal advice. Last reviewed 6 September 2026. About this site and editorial policy · Report an error.