Anna Gupta, head of health and social care at Royal Holloway, University of London, has hit out at recommendations made in the interim report of the Family Justice Review panel such as placing a six-month deadline on care proceedings.
While agreeing cases take too long, she said that applying a deadline does nothing to address understaffing in social work teams, a lack of legal aid funding, court time, court guardians, expert witnesses and specialist judges.
She said: "A six-month time limit for all but exceptional cases will not resolve the fundamental reasons for delay."
Gupta, who was speaking at a conference in London called Back to the Future: The Implications of the Family Justice Review for Children in Care Proceedings, is also concerned about proposals to reduce the level of scrutiny of care plans and local authority decisions.
Register Now to Continue Reading
Thank you for visiting Children & Young People Now and making use of our archive of more than 60,000 expert features, topics hubs, case studies and policy updates. Why not register today and enjoy the following great benefits:
What's Included
-
Free access to 4 subscriber-only articles per month
-
Email newsletter providing advice and guidance across the sector
Already have an account? Sign in here
