Cafcass recognised in New Year honours
Cafcass, the organisation that looks after children’s
interests in the family courts, is pleased to announce that our
Chief Executive, Anthony Douglas, has been awarded a CBE for
services to family justice and adoption in the New Year’s honours
list. Ann Head, a self-employed practitioner who has acted as
a children’s guardian in cases for us, has been awarded an MBE for
services to children and social work.
We would also like to congratulate Hugh
Pattrick, an FCA with Cafcass Cymru who many of our staff know.
Hugh has also been awarded an MBE.
In respect of Anthony’s CBE, Baroness
Pitkeathley, Chair of the Cafcass Board says, “This is excellent
news both for Cafcass and for Anthony. For Cafcass it is
recognition of the tremendous work that has been done, in
partnership with our staff, over the last three years.
Cafcass is now well set to become a high performing organisation
delivering excellent services for Children and Families across
England. In large part this is down to Anthony and his clear
vision for the important role Cafcass plays within the family
justice system to promote the best interests of children.
For Anthony the honour is recognition of
his unstinting personal commitment to vulnerable children and
adults over a career of thirty years in social care.. He
knows, through his work over the years as a Director of Social
Services in two local authorities and now as our Chief Executive
and the Chair of the British Association of Adoption and Fostering
(BAAF), the importance of putting children first.
Anthony Douglas, Cafcass Chief Executive says,
“It is a great privilege to have been awarded this honour. I
have worked with so many fantastic service users and staff over the
years. I am also delighted that Ann Head, a children’s guardian
from Exeter, and Hugh Pattrick, from Cafcass Cymru, have received
MBE’s in the same list. I am sure I speak for all in Cafcass in
sending them our congratulations.
These awards are a reflection of the
importance of social care to British society, particularly the
values we stand by such as support for vulnerable people, and a
recognition of the diverse social care needs of individual service
users throughout the UK. I am especially proud of what we are
achieving in Cafcass and I believe we will go from strength to
strength over the next 5-10 years.’