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1052422

	registered interest
	date	01/02/2019
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	CAFCASS
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will review the effectiveness of the content on domestic abuse in the Children and Family Court Advisory Service's separated parents information programme guidance.
	tabling member constituency	Witham
	tabling member printed	Priti Patel
	uin	215573
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/02/2019 answer text <p>The Separated Parents Information Programme (SPIP) is a course for separated parents that helps them to understand how to put their children first, even though they may be in dispute with one another. SPIPs are aimed at parents where there are no safeguarding concerns and are not designed to provide comprehensive advice on domestic abuse. The SPIP content is reviewed regularly, and is currently under review.</p><p> </p><p>All Cafcass practitioners are social workers with at least three years’ post qualifying experience, and all social work staff joining Cafcass receive specialist training on domestic abuse. Cafcass has developed a Domestic Abuse Practice Pathway and recently launched a Child Impact Assessment Framework (CIAF) to provide its practitioners with additional tools to assess the impact of domestic abuse and inform its recommendations to the court about child arrangements. Cafcass keeps both tools under review.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer question first answered 11/02/2019 16:25:31 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
	tabling member	4066 label Biography information for Priti Patel

987952

	registered interest
	date	15/10/2018
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	CAFCASS
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his department has any plans for the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service to be regulated by an independent governing body.
	tabling member constituency	Welwyn Hatfield
	tabling member printed	Grant Shapps
	uin	179170
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/10/2018 answer text <p>The Ministry of Justice has no plans for the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass) to be regulated by an independent governing body. Cafcass is already subject to independent inspection by the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (Ofsted).</p> answering member constituency Charnwood answering member printed Edward Argar question first answered 18/10/2018 10:55:30 answering member 4362 label Biography information for Edward Argar
	tabling member	1582 label Biography information for Grant Shapps

1567580

	registered interest
	date	17/01/2023
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	CAFCASS
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what safeguarding guidance the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service follows when it assists victims of domestic abuse.
	tabling member constituency	South West Devon
	tabling member printed	Sir Gary Streeter
	uin	125228
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/01/2023 answer text <p>Cafcass’ domestic abuse practice guidance consists of a practice pathway and a guidance document that provides social work practitioners with a structured approach to risk assessment of domestic abuse in the family court. This was updated in May 2021 alongside a programme of training in its use for all practice staff. The materials can be accessed here: <a href="https://www.cafcass.gov.uk/grown-ups/professionals/ciaf/resources-for-assessing-domestic-abuse/" target="_blank">Resources for assessing domestic abuse - Cafcass - Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service</a>.</p><p>The practice pathway guidance provides practitioners with a range of assessment tools to use when domestic abuse is part of a family’s circumstances. The aim of this guidance is to ensure that the safety and wellbeing of the child at the centre of proceedings; to promote the best interests of the child and offer a safe recommendation to the court; to work in a trauma focused, respectful and responsive manner; to assess the impact on the child of their lived experience of domestic abuse and to look for strengths in the family and community to promote safety.</p> answering member constituency Finchley and Golders Green answering member printed Mike Freer question first answered 24/01/2023 10:20:13 answering member 4004 label Biography information for Mike Freer
	tabling member	234 label Biography information for Sir Gary Streeter

1132091

	registered interest
	date	13/06/2019
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	CAFCASS
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate his Department has made on the number of cases undertaken by Cafcass in each year from 2010.
	tabling member constituency	Sheffield, Heeley
	tabling member printed	Louise Haigh
	uin	264429
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/06/2019 answer text <p>The number of cases undertaken by Cafcass in each year from 2010 is as follows:</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>2009-10</p></td><td><p>56, 502</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2010-11</p></td><td><p>55, 538</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2011-12</p></td><td><p>54, 852</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2012-13</p></td><td><p>59, 226</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2013-14</p></td><td><p>60, 629</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014-15</p></td><td><p>48, 898</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015-16</p></td><td><p>54, 226</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2016-17</p></td><td><p>59, 286</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2017-18</p></td><td><p>60, 904</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2018-19</p></td><td><p>62, 347</p></td></tr></tbody></table> answering member constituency Blackpool North and Cleveleys answering member printed Paul Maynard question first answered 18/06/2019 16:47:26 answering member 3926 label Biography information for Paul Maynard
	tabling member	4473 label Biography information for Louise Haigh

1133584

	registered interest
	date	20/06/2019
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	CAFCASS
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many family court advisers were employed by Cafcass in each year from 2010 to date.
	tabling member constituency	Sheffield, Heeley
	tabling member printed	Louise Haigh
	uin	267259
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/06/2019 answer text <p>The number of family court advisers who were employed by Cafcass in each year from 2010 to date:</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Month and Year</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Number of Family Court Advisors </strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>March 2010</p></td><td><p>1120</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>March 2011</p></td><td><p>1116</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>March 2012</p></td><td><p>1163</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>March 2013</p></td><td><p>1198</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>March 2014</p></td><td><p>1226</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>March 2015</p></td><td><p>1200</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>March 2016</p></td><td><p>1192</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>March 2017</p></td><td><p>1146</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>March 2018</p></td><td><p>1295</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>March 2019</p></td><td><p>1337</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p> answering member constituency Blackpool North and Cleveleys answering member printed Paul Maynard question first answered 25/06/2019 13:27:56 answering member 3926 label Biography information for Paul Maynard
	tabling member	4473 label Biography information for Louise Haigh

1523394

	registered interest
	date	18/10/2022
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	CAFCASS
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the (a) adequacy of funding for and (b) effectiveness in the disbursement of that funding for contact centres as a result of the withdrawal of the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Services from the disbursement process.
	tabling member constituency	Nottingham North
	tabling member printed	Alex Norris
	uin	65979
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/10/2022 answer text <p>The Government recognises the important services provided by child contact centres.</p><p>Until April this year, the Ministry of Justice provided small value grants, via Cafcass, to support the running of child contact centres. The Ministry of Justice is in the final stages of agreeing the funding arrangements for this year’s grants and information will be made publicly available once this process is complete.</p> answering member constituency Dartford answering member printed Gareth Johnson question first answered 24/10/2022 11:55:01 answering member 3970 label Biography information for Gareth Johnson
	tabling member	4641 label Biography information for Alex Norris

89861

	registered interest
	date	29/08/2014
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	CAFCASS
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many complaints have been (a) made and (b) upheld against the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service in the last three years.
	tabling member constituency	Newbury
	tabling member printed	Richard Benyon
	uin	207300
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/09/2014 answer text <p>The following table sets out the number of complaints received by Cafcass in each of the last three years:</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Financial</strong></p><p><strong>Year</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Number of complaints </strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2011-12</p></td><td><p>1,264</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2012-13</p></td><td><p>1,496</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2013-14</p></td><td><p>1,596</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p><strong> </strong></p><p>In 2012 Cafcass simplified their complaints process, reducing the number of stages involved from three to one and ending the classification of complaints as ‘upheld’. Figures for the number of upheld complaints during this period do not, therefore, exist. The focus of the complaints system is now on putting things right for service users while their case is ongoing so that any necessary remedial action can be taken.</p><p> </p><p>The rising trend shown by the figures is, in part, a reflection of the increase in the volume of cases which Cafcass dealt with during this period. However, the main factors which have contributed to the rising trend are Cafcass’ focus on raising awareness of the complaints process for service users.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Bermondsey and Old Southwark answering member printed Simon Hughes grouped question UIN 207284 question first answered 05/09/2014 15:12:49 answering member 194 label Biography information for Simon Hughes
	tabling member	1547 label Biography information for Lord Benyon

89868

	registered interest
	date	29/08/2014
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	CAFCASS
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many complaints have been made against the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service in the last three years; and how many such complaints have been upheld.
	tabling member constituency	Newbury
	tabling member printed	Richard Benyon
	uin	207284
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/09/2014 answer text <p>The following table sets out the number of complaints received by Cafcass in each of the last three years:</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Financial</strong></p><p><strong>Year</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Number of complaints </strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2011-12</p></td><td><p>1,264</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2012-13</p></td><td><p>1,496</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2013-14</p></td><td><p>1,596</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p><strong> </strong></p><p>In 2012 Cafcass simplified their complaints process, reducing the number of stages involved from three to one and ending the classification of complaints as ‘upheld’. Figures for the number of upheld complaints during this period do not, therefore, exist. The focus of the complaints system is now on putting things right for service users while their case is ongoing so that any necessary remedial action can be taken.</p><p> </p><p>The rising trend shown by the figures is, in part, a reflection of the increase in the volume of cases which Cafcass dealt with during this period. However, the main factors which have contributed to the rising trend are Cafcass’ focus on raising awareness of the complaints process for service users.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Bermondsey and Old Southwark answering member printed Simon Hughes grouped question UIN 207300 question first answered 05/09/2014 15:12:49 answering member 194 label Biography information for Simon Hughes
	tabling member	1547 label Biography information for Lord Benyon

1357435

	registered interest
	date	22/09/2021
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	CAFCASS
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the level of the backlog of cases in the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service as at 22 September 2021; and what steps he is taking to tackle that backlog.
	tabling member constituency	Lewisham West and Penge
	tabling member printed	Ellie Reeves
	uin	53316
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/10/2021 answer text <p>The protection of children, particularly those who are most vulnerable, is a priority for this government. We recognise the additional pressures that the family justice system has faced since the Covid-19 pandemic, and the impact this has had on children and families who use the family courts. Since the start of the pandemic the number of new cases issued to Cafcass (Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service) has exceeded the number of cases closed for Cafcass. As at 1 September, Cafcass caseload is 20% higher than March 2020.</p><p> </p><p>The Ministry of Justice has worked closely with Cafcass to manage these pressures and mitigate the impact on its services. Earlier this year £6million in additional funding was agreed to enable Cafcass to increase staff capacity to meet the increased open caseload.</p><p> </p><p>Cafcass has also put in place a protocol to, where necessary, prioritise cases in local service areas so it can continue to meet the needs of the most vulnerable children and families. The approach involves courts working with Cafcass to triage and allocate cases in private law proceedings on the basis of risk and capacity. The Ministry of Justice has agreed an additional £491k to support this work until the end of this financial year.</p><p> </p><p>Cafcass’ prioritisation protocol only applies to private law applications. All public law work continues to be allocated in the normal way and within established timescales. Urgent public law children cases are still being prioritised by the courts, to help safeguard the welfare of the most vulnerable children.</p> answering member constituency South Suffolk answering member printed James Cartlidge grouped question UIN 53317 question first answered 21/10/2021 19:47:27 answering member 4519 label Biography information for James Cartlidge
	tabling member	4620 label Biography information for Ellie Reeves

1357436

	registered interest
	date	22/09/2021
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	CAFCASS
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the impact of the backlog of cases in the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service on vulnerable children and families.
	tabling member constituency	Lewisham West and Penge
	tabling member printed	Ellie Reeves
	uin	53317
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/10/2021 answer text <p>The protection of children, particularly those who are most vulnerable, is a priority for this government. We recognise the additional pressures that the family justice system has faced since the Covid-19 pandemic, and the impact this has had on children and families who use the family courts. Since the start of the pandemic the number of new cases issued to Cafcass (Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service) has exceeded the number of cases closed for Cafcass. As at 1 September, Cafcass caseload is 20% higher than March 2020.</p><p> </p><p>The Ministry of Justice has worked closely with Cafcass to manage these pressures and mitigate the impact on its services. Earlier this year £6million in additional funding was agreed to enable Cafcass to increase staff capacity to meet the increased open caseload.</p><p> </p><p>Cafcass has also put in place a protocol to, where necessary, prioritise cases in local service areas so it can continue to meet the needs of the most vulnerable children and families. The approach involves courts working with Cafcass to triage and allocate cases in private law proceedings on the basis of risk and capacity. The Ministry of Justice has agreed an additional £491k to support this work until the end of this financial year.</p><p> </p><p>Cafcass’ prioritisation protocol only applies to private law applications. All public law work continues to be allocated in the normal way and within established timescales. Urgent public law children cases are still being prioritised by the courts, to help safeguard the welfare of the most vulnerable children.</p> answering member constituency South Suffolk answering member printed James Cartlidge grouped question UIN 53316 question first answered 21/10/2021 19:47:27 answering member 4519 label Biography information for James Cartlidge
	tabling member	4620 label Biography information for Ellie Reeves