What is a Cafcass Section 7 Report?
A section 7 report is ordered by the court to provide information on a child’s welfare and to consider the risks or concerns raised about the child, a parent or other relatives. A report is required under Section 7 Children’s Act 1989.
Why is a section 7 report needed?
A section 7 report is usually required when the court has requested for this to be commissioned either by Cafcass or the social services to assist them in reaching a decision on a child proceedings case concerning the welfare of a child. A report will assist the court in considering a family dispute between the parents and determining an outcome of the dispute.
A Cafcass section 7 report may be needed in one of the following matters:
• Child Arrangements Order – when deciding who the child is to live with and with who the child is to have contact; if you are looking to obtain a contact order for your child please visit our page on contact orders which will explain everything you need to know regarding this area.
• Prohibited Steps Order – preventing either parent from doing certain things or making decisions without the permission of the other parent;
• Specific Issue Order – an order to determine a specific question arising in relation to a child.
How Long does a Cafcass Section 7 report take?
The Section 7 report can take around 12 weeks to complete although a lot of this time is spent with the officer just waiting for police checks to be done and information to be gathered. Normally a few weeks before the report is due (and you are due back at court), the Section 7 interviews will take place and the Section 7 report will be written.
A Section 7 Interview doesn't have a fixed length of time, but the clients we have worked with have reported the interviews taking around an hour on average.
What should I say in a Section 7 Interview?
Be honest, be child-focused, and don't use the interview as a counselling session or as an opportunity to say negative things about your ex-partner. Make sure you have prepared any documents and information in your folder that you may want to refer to, but remember that the Officer is not going to want to read hundreds of pages of emails and text messages - they want to get to know you and to work out if you have the child's best interests at heart.
What goes into a section 7 report?
The Cafcass worker will decide what information they need for the report based on what the court has asked them to look into. This may include talking to children (depending on their age and understanding) about their wishes and feelings and what they would like to happen.
The Cafcass worker will:
usually talk to your children alone – this may be at a neutral venue such as at their school
spend time with you and the other party and listen to any concerns you might have.
They may also speak to other people such as family members, teachers and health workers.The Cafcass worker will not ask your children to make a decision or to choose between you and the other party.
Having made these enquiries the Cafcass worker will write a report advising the court on what they think should happen. In most cases you will be able to see the Cafcass report before the court hearing.
What happens next?
The Section 7 Report will be written up and then a copy will be sent to all parties involved in the court case and to the court itself. If any part of the report is challenged successfully, then a second updated version will be sent to all parties again.
We always tell our clients that receiving a Section 7 report can be a scary event and you may feel anxious about what it might say - as we know that the recommendations are extremely important. Make sure that you have appropriate support that you can call on should you need it such as friends, family, or A Father’s Friend.
The most important part of the report is the recommendations, which are normally at the end of the report - a lot of clients skip straight to the end to read the recommendations. Then they may go back through the report to see how the officer has come to those recommendations.
Sometimes, it's not nice to read the main report if your ex-partner has said hurtful things about you. The important thing to remember is to focus on those recommendations at the end and think about whether you agree that they are in the best interests of the child, even if you don't agree with them completely.
If you are not happy with the section 7 report
If you are unhappy about the report, it is important that you let the court know about your concerns. This ensures the judge is able to consider your concerns when making their decision. We at A Father’s Friend recommends any concerns are made in the form of a witness statement to the court.
If you think there are any factual inaccuracies, for example incorrect names or dates of birth, you should also notify the individual who wrote the report or their manager.
Will the Court agree with the Cafcass section 7 report?
Cafcass data from 2012 shows that in cases where the family court makes a final ruling, Cafcass recommendations are enforced 76.4% of the time. In a further 14.3% of cases they are enforced subject to court review. Cafcass recommendations are not enforced in only 3.6% of cases.
Who makes the final decision?
After reading the report and listening to what you and other people in the case have said, the Court will make the final decision about what should happen to your children. If an agreement cannot be reached between parents, the Court will make the decision based on what is best for the child.
The court will:
pay particular attention to your children’s wishes and feelings – but may not always do what your children want
make its decision based on what it thinks is best for your children
set its decision out in a ‘court order’ which you must stick to.
Help and support
Throughout the whole process the Cafcass worker will be able to answer any questions you may have about your case, although they cannot provide legal advice.
A Father’s Friend is on hand to give legal support. You can find our more about our service here.
