Children’s cases referred to the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Services (Cafcass) rose 9.7% in the last year, according to the latest figures.
In the three months from 1 April 2026 to 30 June 2026, Cafcass saw a further 1,357 cases (involving 1,915 children) than during the same period last year, an increase of almost 10% than during the same period in 2025.
The total number of new children’s cases in the year-to-date stands at 15,328, involving 23,494 children.
The daily demand level in June 2026 was 252 children’s cases per working day, compared to 224 children’s in June 2025.
In the same three-month period, it saw a 3.3% increase in public law children’s cases and a 12.6% increase in private law children’s cases.
Cafcass has received 10,889 new private law children’s cases, involving 16,511 children, since April.
At the end of June 2026, the number of outstanding children’s cases stood at 29,150, an increase of 6.8% (1,866) in outstanding cases compared to June 2025.
The numbers are also up slightly from last month, with 46,645 children in open children’s cases, an increase of 329 (0.7%) on May 2026.
Last month, Cafcass received 5,538 new children’s cases, concerning 8,446 children.
Care applications have also increased by 3.3% compared to the same period last year with a 3.8% increase in the number of children involved (+189 children).
