Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment he has made of trends in the level of (a) recruitment, (b) morale and (c) retention of Cafcass staff.

Cafcass pays overtime claims via a monthly payroll so calculations on a weekly basis are not available. However, based on the last 12 months, an average of 476 hours per week overtime was claimed across the whole workforce (more than 2,000 people). On average, 353 hours ‘Time Off In Lieu’ (TOIL) per week were recorded across the whole workforce.

Cafcass staff are paid overtime in line with its organisational policy. For staff in operational roles, the primary means of managing additional hours worked is through TOIL but may, by exception, be paid at plain time. Staff in Business Services and in some other roles receive overtime payments at premium rates depending on numbers of hours worked and whether working at weekends or on bank holidays.

Ministry of Justice (MoJ) officials attend fortnightly meetings with Cafcass senior management at which recruitment, retention and staff morale issues are discussed in depth. We understand that for the period November 2021 – January 2022, new starters (including those with confirmed start dates) will exceed the number of expected leavers. Cafcass has been highly effective in recruiting and in the last 12 months has been able to grow the workforce by almost 7% (140 Full Time Equivalent).

The MoJ recognises the additional pressures that the family justice system has faced since the Covid-19 pandemic and the consequent impact on Cafcass staff. Cafcass senior management routinely monitors the wellbeing of its workforce and has recently completed an all-staff survey to assist in measuring levels of morale and engagement. The findings of the survey are currently being analysed and will be reported and shared with staff shortly. In addition, the Cafcass leadership team host regular live events open to all staff to gather direct feedback and answer questions on current issues affecting all its people.

The most significant factor impacting the Cafcass workforce currently is the volume of casework. Earlier this year, £6m in additional funding was agreed to enable Cafcass to increase staff capacity to meet the increased open caseload. The MoJ has also given approval to Cafcass spending up to £4.7m above its budget during the current financial year in order to recruit additional staff.