Mother complained that Cafcass did not take concerns seriously

What happened

In summer 2011 a contact order was put in place outlining contact arrangements between Ms B's two children and their father.

Ms B said these arrangements, particularly midweek overnight contact, were not in the children's best interests. Between early summer 2012 and early 2013, there were court proceedings that involved two Cafcass officers. The final hearing took place in early spring 2013. Midweek overnight contact remained in place.

Ms B believed Cafcass's actions did not place her on an equal footing in the proceedings with her ex-partner. She also felt that Cafcass did not take seriously her concerns that the contact arrangements were having an adverse impact on her children.

Ms B complained to Cafcass between autumn 2012 and early 2013. It accepted that there were times when the service she received fell below what was expected, but it did not feel that she had been disadvantaged in the proceedings. Cafcass said that it would not amend its report and that Ms B had had an opportunity to present her concerns so that the court could make a decision about contact.

Ms B was also concerned that Cafcass's documents were not shown to her and that there were factual errors in Cafcass's reports. She also felt that Cafcass had not addressed all aspects of her complaint.

What we found

We agreed with Cafcass that there were times when it had not given Ms B the service she was entitled to. However, we were satisfied that Cafcass had accepted and apologised for this and that there was no evidence that Ms B had been disadvantaged in court proceedings as she believed.

We identified no outstanding injustice to Ms B as a result of Cafcass's shortcomings so we did not uphold the complaint.