Care proceedings duration rises to 30 weeks
Joe Lepper
Tuesday, October 2, 2018
The average time it takes for children in care proceedings to be completed in family courts is at its highest level for four years, government figures have revealed.
Ministry of Justice (MoJ) family court data shows it took 30 weeks to dispose of a care or supervision case during April to June this year. This is two weeks longer than the same quarter in 2017 and the highest average since 2014.
Under the Public Law Outline, care and supervision proceedings should be completed within 26 weeks.
But from April to June this year, just 48 per cent of cases were disposed of within this target, which is down eight percentage points over the same period in 2017.
The increase in the average length of care proceedings comes as the number of children in care rises at its fastest rate in five years.
Department for Education statistics published last year show that there were 72,670 children in care in the 12 months to the end of March 2017, compared with 70,440 the year before and 69,480 in 2015.
Amy Woodworth, policy officer at children in care charity Become, said the recent rise in care applications has created a "significant increase in caseload for an already complex system".
She added: "While it is important that the professionals involved in these cases take the time to fully gather all of the evidence and assess the different possibilities for each family to ensure the best outcome for the child, it must be remembered that lengthy proceedings can be a significant source of stress for everyone involved, especially the child themselves.
"Most children subject to care proceedings have already experienced trauma, whether through abuse or neglect or other difficulties at home. The uncertainty created by the family court process can be very distressing, which is why the 26-week limit was introduced.
"It's vitally important that the family justice system has the resources it needs to make judgments in a timely manner so that social workers and others involved in children's cases can leave the courtroom and focus on helping children either to safely return to their families or to form new attachments with carers or guardians.
"We hope that the MoJ will recognise the urgency of the situation shown by its own statistics and look at how it can improve the family courts system to ensure that children are placed in safe and stable homes sooner."
In the House of Commons last month children's minister Nadhim Zahawi said steps are being taken to stem the increase in children being taken into care. He told MPs that DfE and MoJ officials are meeting with members of national and local family justice boards across England to better understand the challenges the family justice system faces.
A marked rise in the number of divorce cases is also putting a strain on the family court system, the MoJ figures reveal.
From April to June 2018, 68,141 new cases started in family courts, up seven per cent on the equivalent period last year. The MoJ said this has been driven by an 18 per cent rise in matrimonial cases.
In addition, the figures show a rise in the number of applications for orders relating to domestic violence, with 6,127 applications made between April to June 2018, up one per cent on the same period last year.
However, the number of adoption applications has fallen, by one per cent, and the number of orders issued has decreased by nine per cent.
The MoJ says that action already taken to reduce the length of time care proceedings take includes boosting the number of days courts sit and recruiting extra judges.
"We want to see family proceedings resolved as quickly as possible and with the minimum of stress, especially for children," said an MoJ spokeswoman.
"Nearly half of care cases are now resolved within 26 weeks - a drastic improvement from 2011 when cases took an average of 50 weeks.
"But more needs to be done, and we have increased the number of sitting days and recruited extra judges and magistrates to meet increased demand."
Anthony Douglas, chief executive of Cafcass, said: "A combination of continuing high demand in new care order applications, an increase in the stock of open cases, and a small increase in the number of hearings going up have all contributed to the upward pressure on case duration. Duration has been edging upwards for a while now but it is important to continue to keep as close to the 26-week limit as possible rather than to risk going back to the old days of chronic delay."
Jenny Coles, chair of the families, communities and young people policy committee at the Association of Directors of Children's Services, said: "Local authorities and the courts have made some good progress in improving the timeliness of care proceedings down from an average of 50 weeks in 2011 to 26 weeks in 2016.
"One of the ways local authorities have done this is by revising our approaches to pre-proceedings but there are several reasons why average times are now lengthening. The volume of cases we are dealing with is increasing as is the complexity.
"Delays can also be due to differences in courts or assessments for family members identified part way through proceedings. The Public Law Outline has delivered some benefits in terms of reducing unnecessary drift and delay for children and families, however, we are clear that this can never be at the detriment of children.
"Social workers must be given the time and space to conduct comprehensive and robust assessments to ensure we are meeting the individual needs of the child even if this falls outside of the 26-week time limit."