Cafcass failed to follow procedures in family court case

What happened

Mr G and his ex-wife (Ms E) have two children. In mid-2012 Ms E applied to the family court for permission to take the children to live with her permanently overseas. The court asked Cafcass for a report. Cafcass Officer A compiled a report and recommended that Ms E's application be granted. Mr G complained that Officer A's report was inaccurate and his professional judgment was flawed. He also complained that Officer A had failed to carry out safeguarding checks on Ms E's family as directed by the court; had not followed Cafcass procedures when completing his report; and was biased toward Ms E. Mr G also complained about Cafcass's handling of his subsequent complaint

Mr G said that as a result of the failings in the report, he lost confidence in Cafcass and he was unfairly represented by its involvement. Cafcass responded to the complaint and also sent a copy of the complaint to the court.

In August 2013 the court refused Ms E's application to remove the children from the UK and made a shared residence order specifying the time the children would spend with each parent.

What we found

Most of Mr G's concerns about the Cafcass officer's report and professional judgment were addressed by the court. However, the officer failed to follow Cafcass's procedures in some aspects of his report and when responding to directions made by the court. We also found that Cafcass had not responded appropriately when Mr G first complained to it. The failings we identified caused Mr G worry, inconvenience and distress.

Putting it right

Cafcass apologised to Mr G and reviewed the circumstances of his complaint to identify any learning for staff to make sure that they comply with procedures in future.