The Family Actions Users Group met on 1 June 2026 in Parliament House, Edinburgh. The Group provides a forum for consultation, discussion and feedback between judges, clerks and practitioners involved in the conduct of family proceedings in the Court of Session.

The following matters arose.

• The Court of Session’s jurisdiction to hear parental orders under sections 54-55 of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008 is underused, and a number of cases in which parties are domiciled in Scotland, are going to England and Wales. Further work to highlight that the Scottish courts have jurisdiction to deal with these cases, and do so quickly and effectively, is underway.
• In simplified divorce applications, where an application shows the applicant and respondent as living at the same address, the court will require vouching that the parties are living apart before granting decree.
• An issue around the size of the screens in Court 8 is to be investigated by SCTS.