Children and Families Act nets Royal Assent ahead of key changes in April

The Children and Families Act received Royal Assent this week, paving the way for key changes to the family justice system to come into effect in April.

The legislation includes the Government’s flagship measure of a maximum 26-week time limit for completing care and supervision proceedings, save in cases where an extension is needed to resolve the proceedings justly.

The Act is also intended to ensure that expert evidence in family proceedings concerning children “is permitted only when necessary to resolve the case justly, taking account of factors including the impact on the welfare of the child”.

Many of the key changes will take effect from 22 April, when the single Family Court is launched.

Other significant changes highlighted by ministers include:

  • Allowing children in care the choice to stay with their foster families until they turn 21;
  • A new legal duty on schools to support children at school with medical conditions better;
  • Making young carers’ and parent carers’ rights to support from councils “much clearer”;
  • Reforms to children’s residential care “to make sure homes are safe and secure, and to improve the quality of care vulnerable children receive”;
  • A requirement on all state-funded schools - including academies - to provide free school lunches on request for all pupils in reception, year 1 and year 2;
  • From April 2015, mothers, fathers and adopters will be able to opt to share parental leave around their child’s birth or placement. “This gives families more choice over taking leave in the first year - dads and mothers’ partners can take up to a year, or parents can take several months at the same time”;
  • Adoption leave and pay will reflect entitlements available to birth parents from April 2015;
  • Extension of the right to request flexible working to all employees from 30 June 2014;
  • Replacement of the current statutory procedure, through which employers consider flexible working requests, with a duty on employers to consider with requests in a ‘reasonable’ manner.

The Government also highlighted its consultation on a series of regulation changes on adoption and new guidance for social workers on how to navigate the new system.

It said it would issue the final special educational needs code of practice “shortly” ahead of reforms coming into force in September.

Family Justice and Civil Liberties Minister Simon Hughes, said: “When cases go to court we want them to happen in the least damaging way. So we are improving processes, reducing excessive delays, and we have also changed the law so that care cases must be completed within 26 weeks.”

Commenting on the legislation, Andrew Webb, President of the Association of Directors of Children's Services (ADCS), suggested that the provisions in the Act had changed “significantly for the better” since the original Bill drafts.

“We think this legislation may now be more suited to support fundamental changes in the way we work with some groups of children, young people and their families,” he said.

“ADCS, through its members, has been working with the Government and partners to try to shape the Act and plan for its successful implementation. Local authorities have been trialling ways to turn the legislation into positive changes for children especially in the two key areas of Special Educational Needs and Adoption and Family Justice.”

Webb said the ADCS welcomed the reforms. “We think they are more likely to succeed because they have been grounded in our daily work. There is a lot more work to do to make sure that the whole Act, including some of the newer amendments, are developed through regulations and guidance to support those on the front line to implement them. The clearer focus on children and the services we provide to them and their families has been a welcome progression."