Former president of the Family Division, Sir Andrew MacFarlane, has been appointed patron of Family Rights Group (FRG), a charity focused on reform of the child welfare and family justice systems.
FRG has spent 50 years campaigning to ensure child welfare system supports children to live safely and thrive within their family. The organisation says it continues to pioneer practices such as family group conferences and recently secured legislative changes for children, families and kinship carers, alongside servicing the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Kinship Care.
Sir Andrew’s appointment comes at the same time as Angela Frazer-Wicks MBE is appointed as its first ever Ambassador; the pair joining existing patron, the Rt Hon Alan Johnson. FRG said the appointments form part of a “significant governance transition for the organisation” and aligns the judicial experience of the former President of the Family Division with the lived experience of Frazer-Wicks MBE.
Discussing his motivation for becoming patron of Family Rights Group MacFarlane said: “The manner in which high quality social work and legal knowledge and extensive experience from parents and children come together within Family Rights Group, mark it out within Family Justice as a unique and most valuable resource and voice. I have long supported the work of the Family Rights Group. I am honoured and excited in equal measure to become a Patron of such an excellent organisation.”
Angela Frazer-Wicks, who steps down from the Board, will become the charity’s first-ever Ambassador. Angela’s eldest two children were adopted in 2004. Alongside raising her youngest child, she has become a national advocate for parents’ voices in reforming the child welfare system, serving on advisory boards for the Department for Education, CAFCASS, and the Family Justice Council.
Commenting on her appointment, Frazer-Wicks MBE said: “I didn’t think I would ever feel prouder than I did as Chair of Family Rights Group. To lead the organisation that literally changed my life was an absolute honour and some of the most amazing years of my life. To now become their first ever Ambassador, is hard to put into words. I am proud, honoured, humbled and beyond delighted. I shall do my very best to continue to promote, endorse and amplify the mission, strategy and work of my beloved Family Rights Group.”
