Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass) is an independent agency that represents the best interests of children in court proceedings. According to their latest statistics published, February 2016 saw 3237 new private law cases which is a 10% rise from February 2015.

Private law cases are those usually involving divorces or separation where Cafcass are involved in order to settle child arrangements, such as where the children will live or how much time each parent will spend with the child/children. Cafcass’ role therefore, is an integral part of the Family Court process to ensure the best interests of children are at the centre of any decisions made.

Cafcass also record statistics on care applications, which in February 2016 saw a rise of 27% compared to February 2015. The total of 1,225 applications received in February 2016 made it the highest number of applications received in a single month.

To read more official Cafcass statistics please visit Cafcass website.