MoJ to hold regional conferences in bid to reduce delays in care proceedings
The Ministry of Justice has launched a new inter-agency approach intended to reduce unnecessary and damaging delays in care and supervision.
As part of the new approach, the MoJ is holding a series of nine regional conferences this month. The purpose of these events is to discuss Lord Laming’s recommendations for a system-wide approach to reducing delays, “drawing on all partners in the care proceedings system”.
The approach, which is expected to come into force on 1 April 2010, includes a new national indicator for local authorities on provision of core assessments with applications for care and supervision proceedings.
There will also be key performance indicators for Cafcass on the appointment of guardians, the Courts Service on completion of cases in line with new timeliness bands and the Legal Services Commission on increasing the take-up of pre-proceedings legal advice.
The conferences are targeted at:
- local authority children’s services (especially pre-proceedings and court teams) and family lawyers
- children’s guardians
- court administrative representatives and legal advisers
- the judiciary, magistracy and legal professionals.
The Local Government Association warned this month that implementing one particular recommendation in Lord Laming’s report, which was published in March 2009, would cost nearly £250m and require an estimated 6,300 extra social workers.
This related to the suggestion that any referral from another professional, such as a police officer or health worker, should result in social services carrying out an initial assessment.
Researchers at the Loughborough University, commissioned by the LGA, claimed this could lead to a 300% increase in the number of such assessments.
