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The Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass) has welcomed plans by the Ministry of Justice to extend private law reform across all family courts in England and Wales over the next three years.
The reforms, already piloted in some areas, aim to improve outcomes for children by involving them earlier in proceedings and enabling decisions about family arrangements to be made more quickly. Cafcass said the national rollout represents a significant step toward reducing delays and ensuring children’s voices are central to decision-making.
Under the revised approach, there will be a stronger emphasis on early assessment and a move towards a single decision hearing in many cases. Cafcass indicated that this will allow family court advisers to present evidence informed directly by children’s experiences at an earlier stage, particularly in cases involving allegations of domestic abuse.
The organisation said the reforms also place a greater focus on safe and appropriate decision-making, including improved assessment of harm and the risk of future harm to both children and adult survivors of abuse. Cafcass confirmed it will continue to enhance guidance and training for its advisers to support this work, particularly in identifying coercive and controlling behaviour and assessing the safety of existing arrangements.
The expansion of the model will require significant operational changes, including increased capacity to see more children within shorter timescales. Cafcass welcomed the Government’s commitment to provide additional funding to recruit more permanent social workers to support delivery of the reforms.
Jacky Tiotto, Chief Executive of Cafcass, said the changes mark a major shift in how children’s voices are incorporated into proceedings. She noted that, under the new model, children will be seen and heard before the first and often only decision hearing, with their views directly informing the evidence considered by the court.
Tiotto added that early feedback from practitioners working under the reformed system indicates that placing children at the centre of proceedings is likely to lead to better outcomes, particularly in cases involving conflict, abuse or harm.
Cafcass said it will continue to work with the Ministry of Justice and other partners as the reforms are implemented nationwide, with the aim of ensuring the system delivers more timely and effective support for children and families involved in private law disputes.
