Annual Report 2006-2007 - Cafcass

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Overview by the Chair Chairing a non-departmental public body, especially one engaged in frontline service delivery, is never simple. But some things make it easier. First, it is important to have a skilled and experienced Board, which is able to take difficult decisions with confidence and trust in each other and in the Chief Executive. The second and crucial thing is having a Chief Executive who is able to meet the huge challenges we all face with skill, wisdom, diplomacy and an unbelievable capacity for hard work. Cafcass is fortunate to have both of these and our need for both of them as we go forward into next year is going to be even greater. I record my most sincere thanks to Baroness Howarth, Deputy Chair, to all Board members, to Anthony Douglas and to all our staff for another year in which their contributions have been far beyond what can reasonably be expected. I said last year that Cafcass was no longer a problem organisation. That is certainly true, as our performance against our targets in virtually all areas shows. What a relief it must be to the Audit Committee, in particular to its indefatigable Chair, Nick Stuart, that meetings are no longer about non-compliance, but about targets achieved. These achievements are not just about ticking boxes, but about the whole Cafcass workforce being more able to focus on the outcomes for children and being prepared to make the necessary changes in working practice in order to deliver to the highest possible standards. We may not be a problem organisation any longer, but we certainly still have problems and we have to pursue all-round improvement relentlessly and with passion. We should be proud of the progress we have made but mindful of all that remains to be done. Improving our practice is a major priority and the changes required from all our staff to their ways of working will not be easy to achieve. The Board is confident that, led by an exceptional Chief Executive and senior team, we shall continue to implement the changes necessary to deliver the service which the children and families who rely on us need and deserve. Baroness Pitkeathley OBE The Statement of Priorities for next year (see opposite) sets out a programme which any organisation might find challenging, but our leadership is now so strong and our staff so committed and skilled that I know we can meet those challenges. Cafcass is now a highly respected organisation and I know that we can count on the support of the Department for Education and Skills (DfES), the judiciary and all our external partners to help us to do so. | Cafcass Annual Report and Accounts 2006–07
Chief Executive’s Report Cafcass provides expert analysis and clear recommendations to those with a caring responsibility for understanding the needs, wishes and feelings of children and young people whose cases are heard in the English family courts. But we do much more than that. We work directly with children, families and professionals to make the most effective contribution we can to improving the quality of life of all the children in need and children in care referred to us by the family courts. We are working hard to be clearer about the evidence base for our work, and to demonstrate the value we add. In the year covered by this Annual Report we developed far stronger frameworks in vital practice areas like safeguarding. We delivered practice improvements in the assessment of risk in private law cases involving domestic violence, progress which was validated by our inspectors. We improved our response times in public law cases, in a year when demand for this service rose, as it has done consistently in recent years. We strengthened our infrastructure and this was clear in the progress reports considered and approved by our Audit Committee. We delivered a balanced budget and completed several important change programmes using in-year funding provided by DfES. This included completion of the roll-out of our new Case Management System (CMS) to all teams; an upgrade of our IT network and the start of hardware replacement; and expansion of important practice programmes like Extended Dispute Resolution and Family Group Conferencing. We face the same pressures as all frontline organisations, and we will have to work just as hard in 2007–08 and future years to stay on top of work that is often complex, tough and draining, as well as rewarding, for frontline staff. I would like to pay tribute to all my staff for their continued commitment to the children and young people we have a duty to support. What then of the year ahead The following is our Statement of Priorities for 2007–08. • Implementing our new National Standards, which were launched on 1st June 2007. • Achieving a step change in performance in teams where this is needed, and consolidating high performance levels in those teams that have reached that level and standard already. • Carrying out development work so we are compliant with the New Public Law Outline (revised Judicial Protocol) by April 2008. • Roll-out of our new national private law model, in synch with the next stages of the President’s Private Law Programme. • Achieving measurably higher levels of staff engagement in corporate programmes. • Implementing our new national structure, following the 2006–07 Organising for Quality consultation, including the development of new roles such as Family Support Worker and Practice Supervisor. • Strengthening external partnerships, as part of an expanding commissioning role and function. Our programme for 2007–08 is ambitious, but no more ambitious than our achievements last year, as I hope this Annual Report is able to demonstrate. We have received a 5.8% budget increase for 2007–08 from DfES, which provides a platform for much of what we need to do in the coming year. We are in our seventh year. Like any stillyoung organisation, we are maturing and developing fast, albeit with some things we could have done differently and with frustrations along the way. I would say that is part of the learning process. Our aim is continuous improvement in all we do and next year we will continue striving to that end. Anthony Douglas Chief Executive’s Report |
Page 1: Annual Report and Accounts Children
Page 4 and 5: Our purpose Cafcass has a statutory
Page 8 and 9: Section 1: Management Commentary Se
Page 10 and 11: Private law Our approach to working
Page 12: case study Managing our resources:
Page 15 and 16: case study Cafcass Legal and the Hi
Page 17 and 18: Transforming services and modernisi
Page 19 and 20: case study North East Children’s
Page 21 and 22: Diversity conference We held a nati
Page 23 and 24: staff easy access to their collecti
Page 25 and 26: Family Justice Councils Cafcass con
Page 27 and 28: “This excellent practice guidance
Page 29 and 30: This year we also produced three DV
Page 31 and 32: Diversity Our workforce is ageing,
Page 33 and 34: upgrade will be completed by the en
Page 35 and 36: KPI 2 - At least 98% of all public
Page 37 and 38: KPI 5 -The percentage of Section 8s
Page 39 and 40: Section 1: Management Commentary |
Page 41 and 42: The Parliamentary and Health Servic
Page 43 and 44: Members of the Board at an open Boa
Page 45 and 46: Section 4: Statement on Internal Co
Page 47 and 48: and advice on best practice. The co
Page 49 and 50: Board members’ remuneration (audi
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Page 53 and 54: Additional meetings between the tra
Page 55 and 56: the Secretary of State for Educatio
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Balance Sheet as at 31st March 2007
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Expected useful lives are as follow
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The total staff cost includes a cos
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7 Tangible fixed assets Freehold la
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13 Analysis of changes in cash 1st
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18b Analysis of capital expenditure
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The FRS17 valuation as at 31st Marc
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General contact details We can be c
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Annual Report 2006-2007 - Cafcass

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