Close to two thirds of all care cases are now completed within 26 weeks, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has announced.
No less than 60 per cent of care proceedings comply with this target timeframe, which was introduced by the Children and Families Act 2014 to minimise disruption and uncertainty for children who enter the care system.
The average time to completion across all care proceedings between January and March this year was 28 weeks – a figure which has changed little over the last year following sharper drops in previous years.
The report also highlights a sharp drop in demand for adoption orders, which fell by 11 per cent between January and March when compared to the same quarter the previous year. Meanwhile, the average lifespan of financial remedy (maintenance) claims has now reached nearly 25 weeks, up from 20 weeks.
The new statistics can be read here.
Sadly this Act and all others are failing children. We only have to look to Brazil and Mexico to see how uncivilised we in this nation in comparison!