Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment he has made of adequacy of funding for supported contact centres by Cafcass.

The Government is not responsible for funding the child contact centre sector. However, the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass) provides small value annual grants to supported child contact centres run by the voluntary sector, where such centres seek financial assistance. This funding not only helps such centres to remain viable but may be used to develop the quality of provision offered.

The overall level of funding available to supported child centres is dependent on demand but has remained broadly stable since 2014/15. For 2018/19, individual grants are available up to an initial limit of £2,500 which can be increased to £3,000 where appropriate.