Received from: NAPO
Congress recognises that the family justice system is in a markedly worse state than at any time in its history.
This has been presided over by the previous government whose austerity policies have had a deleterious impact on Cafcass staff as they have tried to deal with massively unrealistic workloads and record numbers of private and public law applications from families facing desperate times.
Whilst it is true that some reductions of workload have been recorded in some Cafcass regions, and that the pathfinder mediation project is demonstrating early positive results, it needs to be recognised that this is largely due to the selflessness of Cafcass staff, many who continue to carry unreasonable caseloads and work unpaid hours.
Congress therefore calls for the government to:
i. initiate an urgent review into the operational status of Cafcass to determine whether it’s current placement under the auspices of the Ministry of Justice best serves the taxpayer and the children and families who rely on its services
ii. establish an urgent independent review into Cafcass workloads underpinned by time and motion studies. This will help determine measures to identify a safe individual workload figure to protect staff from burn out or exploitation and provide safe and adequate staff, so that a higher quality of service can be offered to future children and families.
Napo