Health, Wellbeing and Local Government Committee

HWLG(3)-10-09 Paper 5

Committee Inquiry into CAFFCASS Cymru – Written evidence from Jack Wynne-Williams

How effective is CAFCASS Cymru is conducting assessments and analyses to facilitate decision making in the best interests of the child, including private law, domestic abuse and contact arrangements?

Ineffective. There appears to be a lack of well-trained staff. Unfortunately there appears to be a culture of fear; so making NO decision’ rather than a decision that might be criticised. This can result in long delays when dealing with domestic abuse and contact arrangements. Also there does not appear too be much continuity in the procedures used by different officers during assessments.

To what extent do CAFCASS Cymru services reflect the Welsh Assembly Government’s approach to children’s rights and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child?

I believe that very few CAFCASS Cymru officers know what the Welsh Assembly Government’s approach to children’s rights is; or what is the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child

What role should CAFCASS Cymru play in the wider safeguarding framework in Wales?

CAFCASS Cymru should play a role in monitoring the abuse the legal system – It should record which legal representatives have been putting forward allegations of abuse.

This would allow the CAFCASS Cymru to see if a pattern can be identified /established where false allegations are being used as a legal tool to ensure that one parent is kept away from a child for a length of time. Thereby increasing the chance of the parent with whom the child resides being given residence at a hearing.

CAFCASS Cymru should then make that information available to the Law Society.

CAFCASS Cymru should become the primary organisation monitoring each time that Court Orders involving children are breached. This would allow a court to quickly access the information for future hearings and might discourage the breaking of orders as the parties would be aware that this information would available to a judge at future hearing.  

How effective is CAFCASS Cymru in addressing the needs of diverse groups?

Ineffective. When I requested to work through the medium of Welsh – the ability of the officer provided to use the medium of Welsh was poor.

How effective is CAFCASS Cymru in ensuring that resources are effectively and efficiently deployed and in allocating funds to activities such as child contact centres?

CAFCASS Cymru – DO NOT presently fund child contact centres! Therefore they are NOT at all effective. The committee should look seriously at the issue of contact centre funding; as contact centres will sometimes be the ONLY method that a court can ensure that a child can see their parent during a difficult time.