Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department has recently assessed the potential merits of reviewing the weighting given to a child's views in child arrangement orders in cases where there is an unresolved disagreement between parents.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Government does not have any plans to undertake a formal assessment of the efficacy of child arrangement orders. However, we have recently published a review of the courts’ application of the presumption of parental involvement that explored the impact of decisions about child arrangements on child welfare. The Review found a high incidence of orders for direct contact between children and parents, even in cases where a parent has caused or posed a risk of harm. The evidence from the review suggested this could have long term negative impacts for children.
The Government is continually working with stakeholders to ensure that the family justice system delivers outcomes that work for children and families. The Government recently announced its intention to repeal the presumption of parental involvement from the Children Act 1989 when parliamentary time allows, alongside a wider package of family court reforms. A Child Arrangements Order may be made by the court in private family law cases to determine whom a child is to live with, spend time with or otherwise have contact with. Child Maintenance calculations are carried out by the Child Maintenance Service and are based on HM Revenues and Customs data. The calculation represents an amount of money that is broadly equal to the amount that a paying parent would spend on the child if they were still living with them, irrespective of the income or assets of the receiving parent.
The Children Act 1989 states that the welfare of the child is the paramount consideration in family proceedings. The welfare checklist in the Children Act 1989 requires decision-makers to consider the ascertainable wishes and feelings of the child concerned, and the Government has no plans to change this.
The Government believes that children’s voices must be central to family court proceedings and is delivering a new approach to private family law proceedings, known as Pathfinder. Under the Pathfinder model, a far greater proportion of children are engaged by Cafcass or Cafcass Cymru compared with the Child Arrangements Programme, and the court process puts a greater emphasis on the voice of the child through the ordering of a Child Impact Report (Report), which contains clear recommendations from the social worker, taking into account the child’s wishes and feelings.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 10 November 2025 to Question 87077 on Children: Custody, what estimate he has made of the number of families reached by the Family Mediation Voucher Scheme in a) Norfolk and b) North West Norfolk constituency.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
Since my response to PQ 87077 on 10 November 2025, uptake of the Mediation Voucher Scheme has continued to grow. The scheme has now helped over 51,000 families access mediation services since its launch.
Decisions on the continuation or expansion of the Mediation Voucher Scheme beyond March 2026 form part of the ongoing funding allocations discussion for the three-year Spending Review period. Any decisions on if and how the scheme could be expanded will be taken once the allocations process has concluded, should the scheme continue.
Local authority-level reporting on voucher take-up is something we are working towards. Our new client survey now collects location data, which will allow us to provide more detailed insights in the future.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 10 November 2025 to Question 87077 on Children: Custody, whether his Department has made a recent assessment of the potential merits of expanding the Family Mediation Voucher Scheme.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
Since my response to PQ 87077 on 10 November 2025, uptake of the Mediation Voucher Scheme has continued to grow. The scheme has now helped over 51,000 families access mediation services since its launch.
Decisions on the continuation or expansion of the Mediation Voucher Scheme beyond March 2026 form part of the ongoing funding allocations discussion for the three-year Spending Review period. Any decisions on if and how the scheme could be expanded will be taken once the allocations process has concluded, should the scheme continue.
Local authority-level reporting on voucher take-up is something we are working towards. Our new client survey now collects location data, which will allow us to provide more detailed insights in the future.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 10 November 2025 to Question 87077 on Children: Custody, what plans his Department has to fund the Family Mediation Voucher Scheme beyond March 2026.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
Since my response to PQ 87077 on 10 November 2025, uptake of the Mediation Voucher Scheme has continued to grow. The scheme has now helped over 51,000 families access mediation services since its launch.
Decisions on the continuation or expansion of the Mediation Voucher Scheme beyond March 2026 form part of the ongoing funding allocations discussion for the three-year Spending Review period. Any decisions on if and how the scheme could be expanded will be taken once the allocations process has concluded, should the scheme continue.
Local authority-level reporting on voucher take-up is something we are working towards. Our new client survey now collects location data, which will allow us to provide more detailed insights in the future.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 10 November 2025 to Question 87080 on Child Arrangement Orders, if he will make such an assessment.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Government does not have any plans to undertake a formal assessment of the efficacy of child arrangement orders. However, we have recently published a review of the courts’ application of the presumption of parental involvement that explored the impact of decisions about child arrangements on child welfare. The Review found a high incidence of orders for direct contact between children and parents, even in cases where a parent has caused or posed a risk of harm. The evidence from the review suggested this could have long term negative impacts for children.
The Government is continually working with stakeholders to ensure that the family justice system delivers outcomes that work for children and families. The Government recently announced its intention to repeal the presumption of parental involvement from the Children Act 1989 when parliamentary time allows, alongside a wider package of family court reforms. A Child Arrangements Order may be made by the court in private family law cases to determine whom a child is to live with, spend time with or otherwise have contact with. Child Maintenance calculations are carried out by the Child Maintenance Service and are based on HM Revenues and Customs data. The calculation represents an amount of money that is broadly equal to the amount that a paying parent would spend on the child if they were still living with them, irrespective of the income or assets of the receiving parent.
The Children Act 1989 states that the welfare of the child is the paramount consideration in family proceedings. The welfare checklist in the Children Act 1989 requires decision-makers to consider the ascertainable wishes and feelings of the child concerned, and the Government has no plans to change this.
The Government believes that children’s voices must be central to family court proceedings and is delivering a new approach to private family law proceedings, known as Pathfinder. Under the Pathfinder model, a far greater proportion of children are engaged by Cafcass or Cafcass Cymru compared with the Child Arrangements Programme, and the court process puts a greater emphasis on the voice of the child through the ordering of a Child Impact Report (Report), which contains clear recommendations from the social worker, taking into account the child’s wishes and feelings.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he has considered changes to child arrangement orders that would affect child maintenance requirements for parents without custody.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Government does not have any plans to undertake a formal assessment of the efficacy of child arrangement orders. However, we have recently published a review of the courts’ application of the presumption of parental involvement that explored the impact of decisions about child arrangements on child welfare. The Review found a high incidence of orders for direct contact between children and parents, even in cases where a parent has caused or posed a risk of harm. The evidence from the review suggested this could have long term negative impacts for children.
The Government is continually working with stakeholders to ensure that the family justice system delivers outcomes that work for children and families. The Government recently announced its intention to repeal the presumption of parental involvement from the Children Act 1989 when parliamentary time allows, alongside a wider package of family court reforms. A Child Arrangements Order may be made by the court in private family law cases to determine whom a child is to live with, spend time with or otherwise have contact with. Child Maintenance calculations are carried out by the Child Maintenance Service and are based on HM Revenues and Customs data. The calculation represents an amount of money that is broadly equal to the amount that a paying parent would spend on the child if they were still living with them, irrespective of the income or assets of the receiving parent.
The Children Act 1989 states that the welfare of the child is the paramount consideration in family proceedings. The welfare checklist in the Children Act 1989 requires decision-makers to consider the ascertainable wishes and feelings of the child concerned, and the Government has no plans to change this.
The Government believes that children’s voices must be central to family court proceedings and is delivering a new approach to private family law proceedings, known as Pathfinder. Under the Pathfinder model, a far greater proportion of children are engaged by Cafcass or Cafcass Cymru compared with the Child Arrangements Programme, and the court process puts a greater emphasis on the voice of the child through the ordering of a Child Impact Report (Report), which contains clear recommendations from the social worker, taking into account the child’s wishes and feelings.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he has recently considered measures to improve the accountability of CAFCASS.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
As a Non-Departmental Public Body sponsored by the Ministry of Justice, the oversight and assurance arrangements for Cafcass are carried out in accordance with the Arms-Length Body Code of Practice. Specific areas of oversight are also covered in the Framework Document between the Ministry of Justice and Cafcass, which sets out the sponsorship governance arrangements, financial management and performance reporting. The Framework Document is reviewed and updated at least once every three years unless exceptional circumstances arise. The next scheduled review of the framework is due to be undertaken by December 2026.
Cafcass is subject to regular inspections by Ofsted, At the most recent full inspection, conducted in January 2024, Cafcass was rated as “outstanding”, the key finding of the Ofsted report are available here. Ofsted also undertook a ‘focused visit’ between 21 and 23 October 2025, which considered Cafcass’s work in relation to private law proceedings where domestic abuse is a factor. Ofsted’s letter of findings is available here.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the press release entitled, Hundreds of quangos to be examined for potential closure as Government takes back control, published on 7 April 2025, if he will provide an update on progress of the review and when it is expected to be completed.
Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
The ALB Review, formally launched on 7th April 2025 is ongoing, its outcomes will be communicated in due course.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to section 5.3: Tackling child poverty and reforming welfare of the Budget 2025, when he expects to bring forward legislative changes.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Our Autumn Budget emphasised our commitment to a fairer welfare system that is fit for the future and provides value for taxpayers. This includes removing the two child limit from April 2026. This will lead to a substantial reduction in child poverty, helping to break the cycle of disadvantage. Given the requirement for primary legislation, we are progressing this as quickly as possible.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the answer of of 7 May 2025 to question 48538, what the timetable is for the Crown Estate negotiating a Partnership Agreement with GB Energy.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
Great British Energy's Strategic plan, published on 4 December 2025, sets out detail regarding arrangements between the two organisations.