Cafcass publishes Annual Report and Accounts for 2024-2025

Cafcass has published its Annual Report and Accounts for the year ending 31 March 2025. 

The report to Parliament presents an overview of Cafcass’ annual performance and accounts for the financial year 2024-2025. It outlines the work Cafcass undertook during this period to support children, young people, families, and carers through their time in family court proceedings.

The report details the progress made against Cafcass’ 2023-2026 strategic plan, Ambitious for Children, and the priorities for year three (which is the current year) to achieve the strategic ambition of providing an exceptional experience for every child with whom Cafcass works, everywhere in England, and every time.  It also describes the improvements made to practice in proceedings where domestic abuse is a factor during the 12 months to 31 March 2025. For example, in October 2024, Cafcass published a new domestic abuse practice policy, with a revised version issued in January 2025. Improving practice where domestic abuse is a factor continues to be one of Cafcass’ priorities. 

The work outlined in the Annual Report and Accounts for 2024-2025 is evidence of the dedication and commitment of everyone at Cafcass and across the family justice system to continue to deliver an important service for all children and young people involved in family court proceedings.

Headlines from the report include:

• Between 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025, Cafcass worked with a total of 132,416 children and young people. Approximately one third (43,003) of these children were in public law proceedings and two thirds (89,413) were in private law proceedings.
• To support progress with its strategic ambitions and priorities, Cafcass continued to implement its national improvement plan known as ‘Listening to children, Lighting the way’, including the practice and leadership priorities embedded within it such as:
  • Seeing and engaging respectfully with every child with whom Cafcass works, sharing recommendations with them and consistently using letters to children to explain what is happening in their family court proceedings.
  • Developing a more detailed understanding of the nature and impact of harm and risk of harm on child victims of domestic abuse.
  • Consistent use of Cafcass’ relationship-based practice framework, Together with children and families, to hold Cafcass’ culture as a priority.
  • The provision of effective management support, supervision and oversight.

Julie Brown, Deputy Chief Executive and Sally Cheshire CBE, Board Chair, said:

“We would like to thank all our colleagues at Cafcass, and our partners across the family justice system, for their work and continued dedication to achieving better outcomes for children. Our Annual Report and Accounts for the year ending 31 March 2025 outline the progress we made during this period against our ambitions for children and our ongoing improvement priorities. We acknowledge that there is still more for us to do, and areas of our practice to improve further, in order to provide every child and their family with an exceptional experience as they go through the family courts. This is something upon which we remain firmly focused.”

A summary of our 2024-2025 annual report for children and young people is available at: Reporting about our work | Cafcass