There were 3,339 applications for divorce last year, and 1,592 for judicial separation, which does not require the four years' separation needed before divorce. About 80 per cent of applications are granted, but there is no correlation between applications made and granted in any given year, as there is a backlog in applications.

About 5,000 people seek a legal end to their relationship every year, of which about 4,000 are processed. The majority - more than 80 per cent - reach a settlement without the courts having to adjudicate on issues such as custody, access, maintenance and the family home.

So the number with court-imposed settlements is in hundreds, rather than thousands, each year, and the number dissatisfied with these settlements less again. This does not detract from the fact that the system is not working as well as it might, especially for children, and there is a build-up of aggrieved parents and unhappy children. There are no precise figures showing how many people are affected. But a family law court reporter has just been appointed by the Courts Service and one of their functions is to compile statistics.