Cafcass welcomes Family Justice Review
31st March 2011
Cafcass has welcomed the Review’s recommendations for an
integrated family justice service arguing it offers the best way
forward for children and their families.
Anthony Douglas, Chief Executive said, “Many of the
recommendations focus on children’s needs, which we welcome,
including more child-friendly hearings and specialist judges and
magistrates to determine the outcome of these complex cases. Most
miscarriages of justice happen to children, not parents and the
light rarely shines enough on children’s suffering. We believe that
these proposals offer the chance to magnify the needs and rights of
children, and ensure that their voices are the most important ones
in family court cases.”
He added, "We proposed an integrated family justice service in
our submission, and have long believed this is the best way
forward. The report proposes our incorporation into a new service
where we will be working jointly with the courts service, legal aid
and other partner agencies within a single service. This will allow
us, collectively, to pool resources properly and to work together
as effectively as possible for children. What we are called does
not matter. What matters is the work that we do, which will
continue, and how well we do it.”
Click here to
view Cafcass' Submission to the Family Justice Review
Click
here to access the full report on the Ministry of
Justice website.