This Press Release marks EI’s steady march from an unwelcome insight (1996) to the heartlands of Establishment thinking (2020).  Some of the material covered here in introductory form is reviewed in more detail elsewhere on this site.   

A chronology of Section 8 reform, 1996-2020.

To read a ballpark estimate of the figures.

Some ballpark estimates.

This is a straightforward 2017 canter through the stalled EI reform. One might think there must be something seriously wrong with it. Or, there and again, one might not.

The first half is easy:  winners include children, mothers, fathers, grandparents, families, the courts, the court establishment and the public purse.  So who are the losers? 

No.

Cafcass is built to a model that avoids and prevents Thought on Section 8 cases. It is founded on its own opposite. The first useful change by Cafcass entails admitting a virus - Knowledge - that must trigger Cafcass’ drastic restructuring in severely curtailed form and/or its dismantlement.

This is the still point of the turning world. On one side of a very simple dividing line are those who favour useful change; on the other, stasis. In twenty-five years, the issue has never been so clear-cut. Q: should parents receive guidance on the issue in dispute?

· the judiciary say yes

· the PrLWG says not

Anyone can see the MOJ and Cafcass are in difficulties…

The question addressed by this website is: now that Cafcass and Whitehall have spent 25 years on a morning’s work - and are nowhere near the starting line - how much longer should they have?  Might a day’s purposeful work by a well-managed group do the trick?