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To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how many guardians are employed by the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service; and what their principal responsibilities are. - Inc figures.

Asked by

Cheryl Gillan (Conservative)

Answering body

Department for Education and Skills

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Tabled on

3 November 2004

For answer on

18 November 2004

Answered on

18 November 2004

Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many guardians are employed by the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service; and what their principal responsibilities are. [197074] Margaret Hodge: At 1 November 2004, CAFCASS employed 1,292 (full-time and part-time) guardians. In addition, there were 424 self-employed guardians contracted to CAFCASS during August 2004 (the latest month for which figures are available). Under the Children Act 1989, CAFCASS provides a children's guardian in specified public law proceedings. These include applications for care or supervision orders and applications for contact or residence orders (in public law cases). Children's guardians are also appointed in those adoption and freeing (for adoption) cases where the courts may have to dispense with parental consent. Guardians are appointed by family courts in order to represent the interests of children and inform the court of the child's wishes and feelings. They are qualified and experienced in social work, and they are independent of social services, parents and other parties involved in the case. In particular, guardians will: appoint a solicitor for the child; investigate and inform the court about the circumstances of the application; and prepare reports for the court. These reports are informed by time spent with the children, relatives, teachers, social workers and health visitors. Guardians attend meetings on behalf of the child; check records and read reports and statements and they may recommend that other professionals be asked to assist (such as paediatricians or psychologists). The reports must provide advice to the court about the child's wishes and feelings. Guardians also critically appraise a child's care plan, drawn up by the local authority.

Date

18 November 2004

Reference

426 c2100W;426 c2106W; 197074

House

House of Commons

Dept for Education and Skills

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how many (a) full-time and (b) part-time staff were employed in each CAFCASS region on 1st April (i) 2001, (ii) 2002, (iii) 2003 and (iv) 2004. - Inc tables and figure.

Asked by

Cheryl Gillan (Conservative)

Answering body

Department for Education and Skills

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Tabled on

4 November 2004

For answer on

17 November 2004

Answered on

17 November 2004

Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many (a) full-time and (b) part-time staff were employed in each CAFCASS region on 1 April (i) 2001, (ii) 2002, (iii) 2003 and (iv) 2004. [197136] Margaret Hodge: CAFCASS was established on 1 April 2001. Before 1 April 2003, CAFCASS collected data on the total numbers of staff, but they were not broken down between full-time and part-time staff or between each region and Wales. The total numbers of staff (full-time and part-time) employed at 1 April 2001 and 1 April 2002 were as follows: (i) 1 April 2001 _________________________________________________________________________________________________. Number Employed staff in post 1257 Self-employed practitioners 695 Total staff 1952 _________________________________________________________________________________________________. (ii) 1 April 2002 _________________________________________________________________________________________________. Number Employed staff in post 1699 Self-employed practitioners 340 Total staff 2039 _________________________________________________________________________________________________. The number of full-time and part-time staff employed at 1 April 2003 and 1 April 2004, in the regions and Wales, were as follows: (iii) 1 April 2003 _________________________________________________________________________________________________. Region Status Staff number East Midlands Full-time 94 Part-time 42 East Midlands Total 136 Eastern Full-time 72 Part-time 51 Eastern Total 123 Headquarters Full-time 53 Part-time -- Headquarters Total 53 Legal Full-time 14 Part-time 1 Legal Total 15 London Full-time 141 Part-time 58 London Total 199 North East Full-time 97 Part-time 23 North East Total 120 North West Full-time 218 Part-time 77 North West Total 295 South East Full-time 102 Part-time 83 South East Total 185 South West Full-time 105 South West Total Part-time 165 Wales Full-time 108 Part-time 38 Wales Total 146 West Midlands Full-time 139 Part-time 65 West Midlands Total 204 Yorks and Humberside Full-time 163 Part-time 80 Yorks and Humberside Total 243 Total staff 1884 _________________________________________________________________________________________________. (iv) 1 April 2004 _________________________________________________________________________________________________. Region Status Staff number East Midlands Full-time 102 Part-time 33 East Midlands Total 135 Eastern Full-time 70 Part-time 45 Eastern Total 115 Headquarters Full-time 61 Part-time 5 Headquarters Total Full-time 66 Legal 23 Legal Total 23 London Full-time 147 Part-time 56 London Total 203 North East Full-time 103 Part-time 32 North East Total 135 North West Full-time 222 Part-time 77 North West Total 299 South East Full-time 104 Part-time 78 South East Total 182 South West Full-time 106 Part-time 52 South West Total 158 Wales Full-time 103 Part-time 35 Wales Total 138 West Midlands Full-time 136 Part-time 68 West Midlands Total 204 Yorks and Humberside Full-time 183 Part-time 77 Yorks and Humberside Total 260 Total staff 1918 _________________________________________________________________________________________________. In addition, there were 441 self-employed CAFCASS practitioners on 1 April 2004. This figure cannot be broken down by region and Wales. Note: The discrepancy between the total figures given here (1884 and 1918) and those quoted in the CAFCASS 2003-04 Annual Report (1879 and 1932) is because CAFCASS subsequently undertook a data cleansing exercise of its management information systems and redefined the criteria used for employed staff. Furthermore, CAFCASS had included Board members and agency staff in its historical data.

Date

17 November 2004

Reference

426 c1522-3W;426 c1526-7W; 197136

House

House of Commons

Dept for Education and Skills

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what the period of delay was in allocating public law cases in the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service in each of the last three financial years. - Inc figures.

Asked by

Cheryl Gillan (Conservative)

Answering body

Department for Education and Skills

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Tabled on

3 November 2004

For answer on

15 November 2004

Answered on

15 November 2004

Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the period of delay was in allocating public law cases in the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service in each of the last three financial years. [197072] Margaret Hodge: CAFCASS does not collect information in the form requested. CAFCASS was set six key objectives when it was established in 2001. Key performance indicators (KPIs) were subsequently devised to measure CAFCASS' performance against these objectives. For 2002-03 and 2003-04, the public law allocations KPI was as follows: In public law no less that 80 per cent. of cases should be allocated within seven days. In 2002-2003, 69 per cent. of cases were allocated within seven days, and in 2003-04, 65.5 per cent. of cases were allocated within seven days. For 2004-05, the CAFCASS objectives and KPIs were revised, as follows: By March 2005, 70 per cent. of allocations during the month for section 31 (care and supervision) cases should be within two days from receipt of request. For the first six months of 2004-05, the average achievement was 52.7 per cent. At least 98 per cent. of all public law allocations each month for all case types should be within 28 days from receipt of request. For the first six months of 2004-05, the average achievement was 92.3 per cent. No more than 3 per cent. of the public law workload should remain unallocated at month end. For the first six months of 2004-05, the average achievement was 2.3 per cent. CAFCASS has made progress in reducing the backlog of public law cases. In July 2003 there were 718 unallocated cases (5.7 per cent. of the workload); in September 2004 there were 281 unallocated cases (2.3 per cent. of the workload). A new board was appointed in April 2004 and a new chief executive was appointed on 1 September. CAFCASS has been given an additional £12 million this year and we expect to see improvements in performance.

Date

15 November 2004

Reference

426 c967-8W;426 c971-2W; 197072

House

House of Commons

Dept for Education and Skills

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what progress the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service is making in preparing guidelines on contact; and when they will be published.

Asked by

Cheryl Gillan (Conservative)

Answering body

Department for Education and Skills

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Date

15 November 2004

Reference

426 c968W;426 c972W; 197073

House

House of Commons

Dept for Education and Skills

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how many weeks it was taking to complete private law cases in each CAFCASS region on 31st July (a) 2001, (b) 2002, (c) 2003 and (d) 2004. - Inc figures.

Asked by

Cheryl Gillan (Conservative)

Answering body

Department for Education and Skills

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Tabled on

4 November 2004

For answer on

15 November 2004

Answered on

15 November 2004

Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many weeks it was taking to complete private law cases in each CAFCASS region on 31 July (a) 2001, (b) 2002, (c) 2003 and (d) 2004. [197135] Margaret Hodge: Prior to 2004/05 CAFCASS did not collect data about the time taken to complete particular cases. However, there is now an expectation that private law reports are completed within 10-12 weeks of the request date to CAFCASS. In general CAFCASS teams that are unable to meet this requirement make arrangements with their courts to extend the timetable for preparing reports in specific cases. At regional level and for Wales the times taken to complete reports, for the period 1 April to 31 June 2004, were as follows: East Midlands--four teams met the 10-12 week standard and one team met the extended 13-14 weeks timetable; Eastern--three teams met the 10-12 week standard and two teams met the extended 15-16 weeks timetable; Greater London--four teams met the 10-12 week standard, one team met the extended 13-14 weeks timetable, one team met the extended 15-16 weeks timetable, one team met the extended over 17 weeks timetable; North East--one team met the 10-12 week standard, two teams met the extended 13-14 weeks timetable and one team met the extended over 17 weeks timetable; North West--two teams met the 10-12 week standard, four teams met the extended 13-14 weeks timetable, four teams met the extended 15-16 weeks timetable and one team met the extended over 17 weeks timetable; South East--five teams met the 10-12 week standard, one team met the extended 13-14 weeks timetable and six teams met the extended 15-16 weeks timetable; South West--two teams met the 10-12 week standard, three teams met the extended 13-14 weeks timetable, one team met the extended 15-16 weeks timetable, two teams met the agreed extended over 17 weeks timetable; West Midlands--three teams met the 10-12 week standard, two teams met the extended 13-14 weeks timetable and three teams met the extended 15-16 weeks timetable; Yorkshire and Humberside--10 teams met the 10-12 week standard and two teams met the extended 13-14 weeks timetable; Wales--nine teams met the 10-12 week standard. On a case-by-case basis timescales may be extended by the courts where the needs of the case require it. This approach would apply across all regions and is not related to resource issues. CAFCASS has been given an additional £12 million this year to improve performance. A new Board was appointed in April 2004 and a new Chief Executive was appointed on 1 September. They are committed to driving forward improvements in the Service.

Date

15 November 2004

Reference

426 c968-9W;426 c972-3W; 197135

House

House of Commons

Dept for Education and Skills

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what the total costs for the running of CAFCASS were in each financial year for which figures are available since 2000. - Inc table.

Asked by

Cheryl Gillan (Conservative)

Answering body

Department for Education and Skills

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Date

15 November 2004

Reference

426 c969W;426 c973W; 197137

House

House of Commons

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