Statements 

Statements are a key part of any case at court. In most instances, statements are treated by the court as evidence. When the court asks you to prepare a statement, the court will usually ask you to prepare a witness statement.

The President of the Family Division (the head and lead judge for all matters in the Family Court) has issued basic guidelines about a witness statement. The details can be found here: https://www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/PFD-memo-on-witness-statements-12112021.pdf .

In summary:

  • Witness statements tell the parties and the court what evidence a party intends to rely on at a final hearing.

  • Witness statements must only contain evidence from the maker of the statement.

  • The statement must be expressed in the first person using the witness’s own words.

  • A witness statement must include a statement of truth. The exact wording is as follows and you must place the following wording at the end of your witness statement:

    I understand that proceedings for contempt of court may be brought against anyone who makes, or causes to be made, a false statement in a document verified by a statement of truth without an honest belief in its truth.

    I believe that the facts stated in this witness statement are true.

  • As a general standard, a witness statement should not exceed 15 pages in length (excluding exhibits). This page limit is a statement of best practice and does not derogate from the limit of 25 pages, which should be regarded as a maximum.

  • A witness statement must not:

    • quote at any length from any document;

    • seek to argue the case;

    • take the court through the documents in the case;

    • set out a narrative derived from the documents;

    • express the opinions of the witness;

    • use rhetoric.

  • A witness statement may only set out matters of fact. Matters of fact include past facts (i.e., events which have happened) and future facts (i.e. events which are expected to happen). A statement may state only those matters of fact of which the witness has personal knowledge and which are relevant to the case.

  • A witness statement may only set out matters of information and belief. The statement must indicate the source of any matters of information and belief. Evidence about proposed child arrangements about needs, will be matters of information and belief. Therefore, where such evidence of such information and belief is given, the source or basis for that belief must be stated.

  • If referring to documents,

    • The statement must identify in a list appended to it what documents, if any, the witness has referred to, or been referred to, for the purpose of providing the evidence set out in the statement.

    • The statement should identify or describe the documents in such a way that they may be located easily at the final hearing.

    • Here is a template to exhibit your document: Template of an Exhibit Sheet

The President of the Family Division has kindly provided a useful template for Litigants in Person in non-complex private law welfare cases. Its use in such cases is optional, but is strongly encouraged. We have created an accessible word document for you here to use in your case at court:

Template for a witness statement

position statement

Please find a template for you to download and use: Template for a position statement

things to consider for other statements

You must try to convert your position or concerns in an issue based way as this will make it easier for the court and the judge to understand your position and what you are seeking from the court. You can do this by using the headings below to house each of your concerns. For example, if you are not happy or would like overnight contact then this concern should be housed under the issue of contact.

Examples of issues of dispute:

  • Who the child[ren] should live with

  • Arrangements for contact

    • overnight contact

    • frequency of contact (how often)

    • duration of contact (how long)

    • quality of contact (supervised, supported, or in the community as you would be if the child was living with you)

    • handover

    • communication between the parties

  • Holidays within the UK and away from the UK

  • School reports and activities

  • Name change

  • Passport permission

Remember that you should follow the rules for a witness statement, as noted above, when asked to prepare a witness statement. The key point is that the witness statement must simply refer and record matters of fact only.