The Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass) hasbeen criticised by a family court union for spending 3.8m onagency staff in the space of just over six months last year.
The figure was revealed in a letter from Cafcass chief executive AnthonyDouglas in reply to a series of Parliamentary questions from shadowchildren's minister Tim Loughton. According to Douglas, more than 1m was spent in each of Cafcass' three operational areas across Englandbetween April and October 2009.
The professional body for family court workers Napo has blasted Cafcass'use of what it describes as "inexperienced" agency staff.
According to Napo, they are often used at the expense of moreexperienced and less costly self-employed guardians.
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