Cafcass's poor communication caused aborted hearing

What happened

The court ordered Cafcass to file a report and make a referral for contact between Mr G and his children. Cafcass said it could not make the referral until it had completed a risk assessment. However, Cafcass did not tell the court that it couldn't comply with the order.

It also filed the report late. At the next hearing, the judge could not progress matters as the report had not arrived at the court and the contact had not taken place. The hearing was aborted and rescheduled.

What we found

Cafcass should have acted sooner to tell the court that its guidance and the court order were incompatible. Cafcass failed to communicate effectively with the court, which caused frustration and confusion during the next hearing. Further, the Cafcass officer failed to file a report on time, which led to a hearing being aborted. Cafcass also mishandled Mr G's complaint.

Putting it right

Cafcass apologised to Mr G for its handling of his case and complaint, paid him £250 in recognition of stress, frustration and wasted time, and implemented a systemic remedy to make sure that its staff were clear about the required time frames for filing documents to the court by various methods.