Interview: David Norgrove, chair, Family Justice Review

David Norgrove gained a reputation as a tough character after facing down a takeover bid by Sir Philip Green while trustee of the pension fund at Marks & Spencer.

But over the past year the former private secretary to Margaret Thatcher and chair of the Pensions Regulator has been tasked with arguably his biggest challenge yet - reforming the sprawling family justice system so it better supports the children and parents it serves.

Norgrove was appointed at the helm of the Family Justice Review panel nearly 12 months ago, prior to the general election, and was kept on in the role by the coalition. While the government has changed, the scale of the task remains huge - there were 25,810 children involved in public law care applications in 2009 compared with 19,760 in 2008 according to Ministry of Justice (MoJ) statistics.

"Clearly the system is under a lot of strain," Norgrove says. "Cases on average are taking a lot of time - 56 weeks at the moment - and from the point of view of the children, that's too long."

Norgrove says that some sweeping reforms as well as less fundamental changes are on the table. One radical option under consideration is a shift towards Scottish-style children's panels, where panel members are picked from the community and trained.

A children's panel system would undoubtedly be a money-saving alternative to courts, as panel members are unpaid. Norgrove concedes that cost is a factor in the review. "We are not being specifically asked to look at the effect of pressure on public spending but of course value for money is something we are bound to look at," he says. Indeed, estimates worked up as part of the review put the cost of public law cases at a staggering £1.1bn a year.

Adopting a children's panel approach might also raise questions about the future of family group conferencing, a method strongly endorsed by the Association of Directors of Children's Services. Norgrove says he has heard mixed views on conferences. "They are clearly at an early stage in England and Wales and I'm not aware of any evaluation," he says.

Another key area of the review is the future of Cafcass, a non-departmental public body branded "not fit for purpose" by the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee. A decision on Cafcass's future has been put off until the findings of the review recommendations are published.

Norgrove is not prepared to shed further light but says the committee's view is not universally shared.

An interim report from the review's nine-strong panel will be published in April, after which a consultation will be launched on its recommendations. After that, changes can be made to the system. Norgrove says: "We hope some recommendations will be able to be implemented quickly - others will need primary legislation and some will depend on having the resources available."

Norgrove CV

• David Norgrove began his career as an economist at the Treasury, working there until 1985
• He then spent three years as Margaret Thatcher's private secretary while she was Prime Minister
• Norgrove went on to spend six years at Marks & Spencer in various roles and was trustee of the company's pension fund
• After leaving Marks & Spencer in 2004 he spent several months working as a shepherd in New Zealand
• He is currently chair of the Pensions Regulator and the Low Pay Commission
• He was appointed independent chair of the Family Justice Review panel in February 2010 by then Justice Secretary Jack Straw