What Can You do if You Disagree With a Section 7 Report in Children Law Proceedings?
When you read a Section 7 report prepared by a CAFCASS officer, it can be hard to work out your best options if you disagree with what is said about you or with the report recommendations.
In this blog, our Family Law Solicitors examine what you can do if you disagree with a Section 7 report.
Contact OTS Solicitors Today for Expert Family Law Legal Advice.
What is a Section 7 report?
A Section 7 report is ordered by the court in some child law applications to help the family judge decide what child law orders are in a child’s best interests.
The report is referred to as a Section 7 report because it is ordered under Section 7 of the Children Act 1989.
CAFCASS Section 7 reports
A local authority social worker or CAFCASS can be asked by a judge to prepare a Section 7 report. CAFCASS is the abbreviation for the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service.
In most child law applications, the report is prepared by CAFCASS, an agency independent of the court and local authority. CAFCASS officers are social work-trained and investigate matters such as child custody and contact when parents are in dispute over the best arrangements for their child.
If you have started a children law application, such as a child arrangement order, prohibited steps order or specific issue order application, or you are responding to the application, and a Section 7 report has been ordered, it is best to take legal advice. By taking legal advice from a Child Law Solicitor, you can hopefully minimise the risk of your being unhappy with the eventual CAFCASS report.
For Specialist Children's Law Advice, Contact OTS Solicitors.
Is a Section 7 report ordered in every child law application?
Because reports can take a long time to obtain, the judge will order one only if necessary. For example, a judge will likely not consider a Section 7 report necessary if the principle of contact is agreed, but the parents cannot decide whether contact should take place on Saturday or Sunday, or whether the child should return at 5 pm or 6 pm.
If the principle of one parent having contact is in dispute, or serious allegations have been made, the judge will likely require a Section 7 report to help them decide which children's law order is in the child’s best interests.
Does a family court always follow the recommendations in a Section 7 report?
The family court does not always follow the recommendations in a Section 7 report, but the judge is more likely to do so than not. That is why it is best to take expert legal advice before the CAFCASS officer starts their investigations and interviews.
Although the court is likely to follow the Section 7 report recommendations, it is possible to challenge a Section 7 report, and a parent should do so if they do not think the contents of the report are accurate or that the recommendations are in their child’s best interests.
Challenging a Section 7 report
If you receive a Section 7 report you disagree with, it is best to review the contents carefully rather than contacting the CAFCASS officer or sending an angry email immediately. Think about why you want to challenge the CAFCASS report:
- The CAFCASS officer got their facts wrong, and whether the fact is essential to the court decision.
- You disagree with the CAFCASS officer’s interpretation of facts and their recommendations.
- You disagree with the approach taken by the CAFCASS officer in preparing the report.
Here are some examples of why you may want to challenge a Section 7 report:
- You think that the CAFCASS officer was wrong to conclude that you had limited parenting skills or emotional ties to your child because the CAFCASS officer did not observe a contact visit between you and your child as part of their report investigations, and instead reported what the other parent said as fact.
- You do not think that the CAFCASS officer has considered all the relevant welfare checklist factors in the 1989 Children Act or given sufficient weight to them—for example, the wishes and feelings of your child.
Making a complaint to CAFCASS
A parent can challenge a Section 7 report by making a complaint to CAFCASS. A complaint can be made during or after the children law proceedings, but it is best to speak to your Children Law Solicitor before making a complaint. The timing or the content of the complaint may be counterproductive to your application, and it is crucial to avoid that.
Addendum CAFCASS reports
If you think that the CAFCASS officer has not investigated a critical aspect, your Child Law Solicitor may recommend asking the court to order the CAFCASS officer to file an addendum report to address outstanding areas.
Cross-examining a CAFCASS officer
If your child arrangement order, specific issue order or prohibited steps order application proceeds to a contested final hearing, your Family Law Solicitor can ask the CAFCASS officer questions based on your review of the Section 7 report and your input. A judge must order a CAFCASS officer to attend a final hearing, so your advocate and the judge must know that you want to challenge the report and need the report author to attend the hearing.
Talk to specialist Family Law Solicitors
Whether you are applying for or responding to:
- A child arrangement order.
- A holiday order.
- A relocation order.
- A specific issue order.
- A prohibited steps order.
The expert Family Lawyers at OTS Solicitors can provide you with the advice and guidance you need on whether to make an application, how to respond to an application, how to respond to a CAFCASS report and representation at interim and final hearings.
Contact OTS Solicitors Today for Expert Family Law Legal Advice.
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