Written question asked by Julie Morgan (Labour) on Wednesday, 18 June 2003, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 1 September 2003. It was answered by Baroness Hodge of Barking (Labour) on Monday, 1 September 2003 on behalf of the Department for Education and Skills.

Dept for Education and Skills

Question: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs, what progress has been made by CAFCASS in Wales in tackling the waiting list for guardian ad litem cases.

Answer: Julie Morgan: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs, what progress has been made by CAFCASS in Wales in tackling the waiting list for guardian ad litem cases. [120956] Margaret Hodge: Progress is being made by CAFCASS in managing and reducing the waiting list of public law cases dealt with by Guardians in Wales. CAFCASS has developed a protocol with local Social Services to avoid delays, including a system for prioritising waiting lists, continuing to recruit frontline staff and training of its officers to work on both public and private law cases which will increase the flexibility of its workforce. If workloads do not increase above current levels, the aim is that waiting lists will be cleared by March 2004.

Secondary information