Comment on latest MoJ family court quarterly statistics

02 Jul 2021 in Safeguarding and Child Protection > Safeguarding & Child Protection >

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Commenting on the latest MoJ family court quarterly statistics Sara Tough, Chair of the ADCS Families, Communities & Young People Policy Committee, said:

“These latest family court statistics are yet another reminder of how the impact of Covid-19 continues to be felt. Clearly, when considering these statistics, 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.

“ADCS remains in regular discussion with government, Cafcass and judiciary regarding this issue but we likely won’t 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.”

ENDS