Press Notice No.3 of Session 2002-3 13
February 2003
NEW INQUIRY
CHILDREN AND FAMILY COURT ADVISORY AND SUPPORT SERVICE (CAFCASS)
The Committee has resolved to undertake an inquiry into the work of the
Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (CAFCASS). CAFCASS is an executive
non departmental public body responsible to the Lord Chancellor. Its role is to support
children and their families in Family Courts and other settings.
Submissions are invited from interested parties on any aspect of the work
of CAFCASS. Witnesses may find it helpful to relate their comments to the six “key
objectives” which have been set for CAFCASS, namely:
•To represent, safeguard and promote the welfare of children involved
in family court proceedings.
•To improve the services offered to the family courts.
•To improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the services offered
through increased value for money.
•To improve the services offered to families and other key
stakeholders.
•To develop the skills of staff.
•To play a full role in delivering the wider Government agenda of
improvements in service.
Submissions should be sent to the Clerk of the Committee at the address
above by Thursday 13th March. If possible, please supply an electronic version in MS
Word or Rich Text format, either by e-mail to lcdcom@parliament.uk or on a disk. If
submitted by e-mail or e-mail attachment, your covering e-mail should state clearly who
the submission is from, together with relevant contact details, and a letter should be
sent validating the e-mail. Attention is drawn to the guidance on the submission of
evidence which can be found at www.parliament.uk/commons/selcom/witguide.htm.
Please note that the Committee’s terms of reference specifically
preclude it from consideration of individual cases.
