Examining the National Audit Office (NAO) Report on Caffcass's response to increased demand for its services

The Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (‘Cafcass’) looks after the interests of children involved in Family Court proceedings in England. At the request of the courts, it works with children and their families and advises the court on the child’s best interests. It provides an independent view of children’s circumstances and plays an important part in assisting the judiciary with their decisions about children’s futures. In 2009-10 Cafcass supported children and families in approximately 57,000 cases.

Cafcass is one organisation working within a complex system aiming to safeguard and protect vulnerable children and support families. Its partners include government departments, local authorities, family courts, legal organisations, solicitors and third sector organisations. Cafcass cannot directly control or limit the demand for its services, which is determined by the rate of applications to the courts. Decisions by other organisations within this system affect Cafcass’s workload.