Written question asked by Steve Brine (Conservative) on Thursday, 10 March 2011, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 14 March 2011. It was answered by Tim Loughton (Conservative) on Tuesday, 22 March 2011 on behalf of the Department for Education.

CAFCASS

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what the average time taken was for the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service to (a) process and (b) complete care cases referred to it in the latest period for which figures are available.

Answer: The support that CAFCASS provides through the appointment of guardians is only one of the factors that contributes to the length of care proceedings. In public law the most reliable measure of case duration is the Ministry of Justice figures showing the average time from when a care application is made to the courts to its completion. Across all levels of court, the average case duration for care proceedings in England and Wales for the period June to September 2010—the latest period for which figures are available—was 51 weeks.

Secondary information