Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that care proceedings are concluded within 26 weeks.

Reducing unnecessary delays in family courts is a priority for this government. The Family Justice Board (FJB) meets quarterly to set direction and oversee performance in the family justice system. This includes progress in meeting the 26-week Public Law Outline.

The department is investing £10 million over 2024/25 to implement and test new solutions to address the causes of the longest delays in care proceedings. This work consists of the following three pilots.

The department is working closely with local authorities in five designated family judge ‘trailblazer’ areas to complete deep dive analysis as well as to develop and test targeted solutions to address the biggest local drivers of delays.

The department is piloting an initiative to bring the child’s Cafcass Guardian and Local Authority Social Worker together before the first case management hearing, to reduce delays caused at the earliest stage of proceedings.

Finally, the department is piloting the use of a new service for suspected inflicted injury in children within the NHS, to address delays caused by the lack of independent medical experts engaging in family court work.

These pilots are due to conclude at the end of March 2025, after which the department will receive an independent evaluation, which will help inform future decisions around reducing family court delays.