Responsibility for Cafcass transfers from DfE to Ministry of Justice

Cafcass has a new sponsoring department from today (1 April), with responsibility passing from the Department for Education to the Ministry of Justice.

The transfer follows the Family Justice Review and associated reforms. It also means that all court-based agencies are aligned within the MoJ.

Anthony Douglas, chief executive of Cafcass, said: “The move is an opportunity to strengthen the perspectives of children in wider MoJ policy. I am pleased with the positive response we have had to our initial ideas about how we might do this together.

“We will maintain the strongest possible links, both on the ground and at a strategic level, with DfE and with local authorities after the transfer. On our front line it will be business as usual.”

Family Justice Minister Simon Hughes said: "The work Cafcass does in supporting vulnerable children and making sure their voice is heard in court proceedings is essential. With Cafcass from now on at the heart of government work on family and children issues in the Ministry of Justice, I believe we can and will improve the work done by our courts to give children and all responsible for them the best possible service."