Care proceedings continue to exceed 26-week target
Fiona Simpson
Monday, July 5, 2021
Care proceedings are expected to exceed the government’s 26-week target until courts are “operating as normal”, the Association of Directors of Children’s Services (ADCS) has said.
Between January and March this year, the duration of care proceedings reached 43 weeks, the highest average since mid-2012, latest Ministry of Justice (MoJ) figures reveal.
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Just 22 per cent of proceedings were completed within the government’s 26-week target in the first three months of the year, 14 percentage points less than during the same period in 2020.
The delay in cases being completed comes following a backlog due to courts being closed during national lockdowns coupled with the challenges of remote hearings and Covid-19 restrictions, experts have said.
Sara Tough, chair of the ADCS families, communities and young people policy committee, said the figures highlight “how the impact of Covid-19 continues to be felt”.
“We must take into account the significant disruption to the work of the courts as a result of the pandemic. The courts are ensuring that hearings are conducted in a Covid-safe way which can cause delays, for example the use of remote hearings often take longer and are not well suited to complex, contested hearings.
“Everyone within the system is working tirelessly and rightly trying to prioritise children but under the current national restrictions this adds extra difficulties.”
However, Tough added that the ADCS does not expect to “see a significant improvement in the length of time care proceedings are taking until the courts are fully open and operating as normal, before the pandemic struck.”
“We know that timeliness is important to children in progressing permanence plans and we are all committed to doing this as best we can, however, our main aim should always be meeting the individual needs of a child or young person, even if this falls outside of the 26-week limit,” she said.
The MoJ’s report states: “It may be some time until improvements as a result of recovery measures taken begin to show, particularly relating to timeliness measures as outstanding cases are dealt with.”