A section 7 report is a report on the welfare of a child ordered by the Family Court in England and Wales under section 7 of the Children Act 1989, which provides that a court “considering any question with respect to a child under this Act may” ask an officer of Cafcass, a Welsh family proceedings officer or a local authority “to report to the court on such matters relating to the welfare of that child as are required to be dealt with in the report”.[1] In private law proceedings begun on Form C100 it is usually ordered at the First Hearing Dispute Resolution Appointment, where Practice Direction 12B provides that welfare reports “will generally only be ordered in cases where there is a dispute as to with whom the child should live, spend time, or otherwise have contact with”, or where the child’s wishes are disputed, risk is alleged or the court otherwise needs the information.[2]
The report is normally written by a Cafcass Family Court Adviser, who Cafcass says will carry out “a more detailed assessment of the disputed issues”, spend time with each parent, “usually talk to your child alone”, and may speak to teachers, health workers and family members, before writing a report “advising the court on what they have found and what they think should happen”.[3] Cafcass states that the adviser “will not ask your children to decide on their arrangements or to in any way choose between you”.[3] The report is evidence which the court “may take account of”; the decision remains the court’s.[1] Cafcass received 18,187 requests for section 7 reports in 2024-25, including 5,116 addendum reports.[4]
Definition and purpose
The section 7 report is the Family Court’s principal source of independent welfare evidence in a dispute between parents. The court cannot itself interview a child or visit a home, and in most private law cases neither parent is legally represented; the report gives the court a professional assessment of the child’s circumstances, wishes and feelings, the risks and the options, structured around the welfare checklist in section 1(3) of the Children Act 1989.[5][1] Cafcass describes the task in its guidance for parents: the adviser will “write a report to the court about your child’s welfare and advise the court about what is in your child’s best interests”.[3]
The report is focused rather than general. Practice Direction 12B provides that “general requests for a report on an application should be avoided; the Court should state on the face of the Order the specific factual and/or other issue which is to be addressed in the focused report”.[2] Typical questions are with whom the child should live, how much time the child should spend with the other parent and on what conditions, the child’s wishes and feelings about a proposed move or change of school, and the risk to the child arising from allegations made by either parent or from findings the court has already made.[2][6]
It should be distinguished from the safeguarding letter which Cafcass files before the FHDRA, a shorter document based on police and local authority checks and telephone interviews rather than on meeting the child; from a section 37 report, which the court directs from a local authority where it appears that a care or supervision order may be appropriate; and from the Child Impact Report prepared before the first hearing in the Child Focused Courts areas.[7][8][9] These are compared below.
Legal basis
Section 7(1) of the Children Act 1989 gives the power. Section 7(3) provides that “the report may be made in writing, or orally, as the court requires”; in practice it is written. Section 7(4) provides that, regardless of any rule of law that would otherwise prevent it, “the court may take account of (a) any statement contained in the report; and (b) any evidence given in respect of the matters referred to in the report, in so far as the statement or evidence is, in the opinion of the court, relevant to the question which it is considering”, which allows the report to contain hearsay, including what the child said.[1] Section 7(5) requires the authority or officer asked to comply with the request.[1]
Cafcass’s power to act comes from section 12 of the Criminal Justice and Court Services Act 2000, which makes it a principal function of the Service to “give advice to any court about any application made to it” in family proceedings concerning the welfare of children; in Wales the equivalent function is conferred on the Welsh Ministers by section 35 of the Children Act 2004 and exercised through Cafcass Cymru.[10][11] Practice Direction 12B sets out when a report should be ordered and requires the order to identify the issues; Practice Direction 12J requires the court to consider directing a report “in any case where a risk of harm to a child resulting from domestic abuse is raised”, provides that any fact-finding should normally take place first so that the report can address the findings, and requires the request to set out clearly the matters to be addressed.[2][6]
Who writes the report
Section 7 allows the court to ask either Cafcass (or Cafcass Cymru) or a local authority. Cafcass is the usual author where the family is not already known to children’s services.[3][10] Where the local authority is already involved with the family, for example through a child in need plan, a child protection plan or recent section 47 enquiries, the court will usually ask the local authority instead, because its social worker already knows the child and can report more quickly; section 7(1)(b) allows the court to ask the authority to arrange for one of its officers, or another person the authority considers appropriate, to report.[1]
The adviser who writes the report is not necessarily the officer who prepared the safeguarding letter or attended the FHDRA; Cafcass allocates the case to a Family Court Adviser in a local team once the order is received.[12] In Wales the report is prepared by a Welsh family proceedings officer employed by Cafcass Cymru, part of the Welsh Government.[11] Where the child has been made a party under rule 16.4 of the Family Procedure Rules, a children’s guardian is appointed and reports in that capacity instead; Cafcass says this happens “in a small number of cases when the conflict between the parents threatens to compromise the interests of the child”.[13][14]
When a report is ordered
The decision is usually made at the FHDRA. Paragraph 14.13 of Practice Direction 12B provides that welfare reports “will generally only be ordered in cases where there is a dispute as to with whom the child should live, spend time, or otherwise have contact with, or in cases where a question of the child’s wishes and feelings arises, or where there are allegations of risk that require assessment, or where the court needs information before it can make a decision”.[2] The Cafcass officer at the FHDRA advises the court whether a report is needed, and the safeguarding letter may itself recommend “further assessment”.[7] The court states the issues in the order and fixes the filing date, and lists a Dispute Resolution Appointment to follow.[2]
A report is not ordered in every case. Where the parents agree at the FHDRA and the safeguarding checks raise no concern, the court makes an order without one.[2] Where domestic abuse is alleged and disputed, and the allegations are relevant to the outcome, the court normally holds a fact-finding hearing first and orders the report afterwards, so that the adviser assesses risk on the basis of findings rather than competing accounts; Practice Direction 12J provides that the judgment should be provided to Cafcass for that purpose.[6] In K v K [2022] EWCA Civ 468 the Court of Appeal emphasised that the court should first identify what the welfare issues between the parents actually are, which determines both whether findings are needed and what any report should address.[15]
A further, or addendum, report may be ordered later if circumstances change or a question is left unanswered, but Practice Direction 12B discourages this: cases “should not be adjourned for a review (or reviews) of contact or other orders/arrangements, and/or for addendum section 7 report, unless such a hearing is necessary and for a clear purpose”.[2] Addendum reports nonetheless made up 5,116 of the 18,187 requests Cafcass received in 2024-25.[4]
How the report is prepared
Cafcass describes the process in four steps. The Family Court Adviser will “spend time with you and the other party to hear about any concerns you might have about your child’s welfare”; will “usually talk to your child alone, this may be at a neutral venue such as at their school”; “may also speak to other people such as family members, teachers, and health workers to gain a fuller understanding”; and will then “write a report advising the court on what they have found and what they think should happen”.[3] Interviews with parents may be in person, by video or by telephone, and observation of the child with each parent may be arranged where the relationship itself is in issue.[3]
The adviser also repeats or updates the checks made for the safeguarding letter with the police and the local authority, and may obtain information from the child’s school and GP.[7] The child is seen in a way suited to their age; young children are engaged through play and drawing rather than direct questions, and Cafcass is explicit that the adviser “will not ask your children to decide on their arrangements or to in any way choose between you”.[3] Where the child says something they do not want a parent to know, the adviser will explain that the report goes to the court and both parents, but will consider how the information is presented.
The time allowed is fixed by the court in the order and varies with local Cafcass capacity; the Family Court Statistics and Cafcass’s published data do not record an average. Practice Direction 12B encourages Cafcass, when preparing a report, “to recommend phased implementation of child arrangements” so that the court can plan for the medium and longer term as well as the immediate position.[2] Guidance on what parents are asked, and how to approach the meetings, is given by Cafcass on its own site and, from the child’s side, on Kids and Divorce, a resource for children and parents published by Family Legal Ltd, the publisher of this wiki.
What the report contains
A section 7 report is structured around the questions in the court’s order and the welfare checklist. It typically records the background and the current arrangements; the enquiries made and who was seen; each parent’s account and proposals; the child’s wishes and feelings and the adviser’s assessment of how much weight they should carry given the child’s age and understanding; the child’s needs; any harm or risk of harm, including the results of the safeguarding checks and, where relevant, the court’s findings; each parent’s capacity to meet the child’s needs; and the options available to the court.[5][3] It ends with the adviser’s analysis and a recommendation, which may be for a particular order, for phased arrangements, for further work such as Planning Together for Children or a domestic abuse programme, or, less commonly, for no order.[2][6]
Where the court has found domestic abuse, Practice Direction 12J requires the report to address the factors in paragraphs 36 and 37: the effect of the abuse on the child and the parent with whom the child lives, whether the parent seeking contact is motivated by a wish to promote the child’s interests, their capacity to change, and whether the physical and emotional safety of the child and resident parent “can, as far as possible, be secured before, during and after contact”.[6] Where the adviser is concerned about the child’s safety, a separate risk assessment may be filed.[7]
The report is confidential to the proceedings. Rule 12.73 of the Family Procedure Rules permits information from private children proceedings to be communicated to a party, their legal representative, a Cafcass officer and a limited list of others, and otherwise only with the court’s permission; a parent may not, for example, show the report to a new partner, publish it or send it to the child’s school without permission.[16]
After the report: the DRA, challenges and the final hearing
The report is sent to the court and to the parties or their solicitors by the date directed, and the case returns to court for the Dispute Resolution Appointment, which Practice Direction 12B lists “to follow the preparation of section 7 or other expert report”.[2] Many cases settle at that hearing on the basis of the recommendation. The author “will only attend this hearing if directed to do so by the Court”.[2]
A parent who disagrees with the report cannot appeal it, because it is evidence rather than a decision. Cafcass advises: “Let your solicitor (if you have one) and the court know what you are unhappy about. This means the judge or magistrate will be able to take your concerns into account when making their decision.”[3] The routes are to file a statement responding to the report, to ask the court to direct that written questions be put to the author, to ask for the author to attend the final hearing to be cross-examined, and, where a factual error or a procedural failing is alleged, to complain to Cafcass under its complaints procedure, which does not itself change the report.[3] HMCTS guidance notes that the court “may order a Cafcass report” and that parents will have the chance to respond to it.[17]
At the final hearing the court treats the report as evidence under section 7(4). The judge or magistrates are not bound by the recommendation, but a court that departs from it is expected to explain why, and appellate courts have consistently required reasons where a judge rejects the advice of the Cafcass officer.[1][5] Where domestic abuse has been found, the court must in any event explain how its findings influenced its decision.[6]
Section 7 reports compared with other reports
| Report | Who prepares it | When | What it covers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Safeguarding letter | Cafcass Family Court Adviser or Welsh family proceedings officer | Before the FHDRA, within 17 working days of the application | Police and local authority checks, telephone interviews with each party, current arrangements, initial analysis of risk; no meeting with the child[2][7] |
| Section 7 report | Cafcass, Cafcass Cymru or the local authority | After the FHDRA, on the issues stated in the order | Full welfare assessment including meeting the child, with a recommendation[1][3] |
| Addendum section 7 report | Usually the original author | Later, only where necessary and for a clear purpose | Update on changed circumstances or a specific further question[2] |
| Section 37 report | The local authority | Where it appears that a care or supervision order may be appropriate; within eight weeks of the direction unless the court orders otherwise | Whether the authority should apply for a care or supervision order, provide services or take other action[8] |
| Rule 16.4 guardian’s report | A Cafcass children’s guardian, with a solicitor for the child | Where the child is made a party because of significant unresolved difficulties | The child’s interests as an independent party, with the guardian conducting the case on the child’s behalf[13][14] |
| Child Impact Report | Cafcass, Cafcass Cymru or the local authority | Before the first hearing in Child Focused Courts areas | The impact of the dispute on the child, gathered from the child and family before the court sits; replaces the safeguarding letter and, in many cases, the section 7 report in those areas[9] |
Statistics
| Measure | Figure | Source and period |
|---|---|---|
| Requests for section 7 reports received by Cafcass | 18,187 | Cafcass, 2024-25; down 1,815 (9.1 per cent) on 2023-24[4] |
| Of which addendum reports | 5,116 | Cafcass, 2024-25[4] |
| New private law cases received by Cafcass | 39,182 cases, 59,471 children | Cafcass, 2024-25[4] |
| Private law cases requiring assessment of harm from domestic abuse | Almost two thirds of cases where work is ordered | Cafcass, 2024-25[4] |
| Average time to file the safeguarding letter | 4.1 weeks | Cafcass, 2024-25 (3.9 weeks in 2023-24)[4] |
| Average caseload per Family Court Adviser in long-term teams | 18.2 (adjusted for full-time equivalent) | Cafcass, 2024-25[4] |
| Rule 16.4 appointments | Up 3.5 per cent on 2023-24 | Cafcass, 2024-25[4] |
The ratio of report requests to new cases, roughly one initial request for every three cases received, is consistent with Practice Direction 12B’s expectation that many cases conclude at the FHDRA without a report.[4][2] Cafcass does not publish the average time taken to complete a section 7 report, and the Ministry of Justice’s Family Court Statistics Quarterly does not count them.
Criticism and debate
Section 7 reports are the point at which most parents encounter Cafcass’s judgement, and they attract corresponding criticism from parents on both sides of disputes: that the adviser spent too little time with the family, gave too much or too little weight to what the child said, accepted one parent’s account, or failed to assess risk. The Ministry of Justice’s 2020 Harm Panel report, which received more than 1,200 submissions, found that “resources available have been inadequate to keep up with increasing demand” across the family justice system and identified Cafcass among the bodies needing “additional investment”; it also described a “pro-contact culture” in which “courts placed undue priority on ensuring contact with the non-resident parent”, a criticism directed at the system as a whole, including the advice on which courts act.[18]
Against that, Ofsted’s full inspection of Cafcass in January and February 2024 rated its private law practice outstanding, finding that “child engagement is strong and highly effective” and that practitioners “take time to understand how best to communicate with children”; the inspection reviewed more than 600 case records.[19] Cafcass’s own audit in 2024-25 judged practice good or better in 73 per cent of the work audited.[4] The Child Focused Courts model, expanded nationally from March 2026, moves the welfare assessment to the start of the case through the Child Impact Report, on the basis that a single early report, informed by the child’s own account, produces safer and faster decisions than a safeguarding letter followed months later by a section 7 report; the then President of the Family Division described it as enabling the court “to gain an early understanding of the impact the dispute is having on the child”.[9]
History
| Date | Development |
|---|---|
| 14 October 1991 | The Children Act 1989 came into force, including the power in section 7 to call for a welfare report[1] |
| 1 April 2001 | Cafcass was established under Chapter II of Part I of the Criminal Justice and Court Services Act 2000, and section 7 now refers to “an officer of the Service”[20][10][1] |
| 1 April 2005 | Functions in Wales transferred to the National Assembly, now the Welsh Ministers, under section 35 of the Children Act 2004; reports in Wales are prepared by Welsh family proceedings officers[11] |
| 22 April 2014 | The Child Arrangements Programme (PD12B) limited reports to focused issues and introduced the Dispute Resolution Appointment to follow them[2] |
| June 2020 | The Harm Panel report criticised resourcing and the pro-contact culture and recommended an investigative pilot[18] |
| February 2022 | The Pathfinder pilot introduced the Child Impact Report in Dorset and North Wales[9] |
| 2 April 2024 | Ofsted rated Cafcass outstanding, including its private law practice[19] |
| 28 April 2024 | Current PD12J: fact-finding normally precedes the section 7 report where abuse is alleged, and the report addresses the findings[6] |
| 17 March 2026 | National expansion of Child Focused Courts announced, with eight further areas in 2026-27[9] |
See also
- Cafcass – the body that writes most reports
- First Hearing Dispute Resolution Appointment – where the report is ordered
- Dispute Resolution Appointment – the hearing that follows it
- Fact-finding hearing
- Final hearing
- Form C100
- Welfare checklist – the structure of the report
- Child arrangements order
- Children after separation
References
- Children Act 1989, section 7: Welfare reports. legislation.gov.uk. Accessed 5 September 2026.
- Practice Direction 12B: Child Arrangements Programme. Ministry of Justice. Accessed 5 September 2026.
- The court asks an FCA to write a report if your case goes beyond the first hearing (section 7 reports). Cafcass. Accessed 5 September 2026.
- Cafcass Annual Report and Accounts 2024-25. Cafcass. published 11 December 2025. Accessed 5 September 2026.
- Children Act 1989, section 1: Welfare of the child. legislation.gov.uk. Accessed 5 September 2026.
- Practice Direction 12J: Child arrangements and contact orders: domestic abuse and harm. Ministry of Justice. version of 28 April 2024. Accessed 5 September 2026.
- A Family Court Adviser gives safeguarding advice to court (the safeguarding letter). Cafcass. Accessed 5 September 2026.
- Children Act 1989, section 37: Powers of court in certain family proceedings. legislation.gov.uk. Accessed 5 September 2026.
- Judges welcome roll-out of Child Focused Courts. Courts and Tribunals Judiciary. 17 March 2026. Accessed 5 September 2026.
- Criminal Justice and Court Services Act 2000, section 12: Principal functions of the Service. legislation.gov.uk. Accessed 5 September 2026.
- Children Act 2004, section 35: Functions of the Assembly relating to family proceedings. legislation.gov.uk. Accessed 5 September 2026.
- What happens in private law proceedings. Cafcass. Accessed 5 September 2026.
- Family Procedure Rules 2010, Part 16: Representation of children and reports in proceedings involving children. Ministry of Justice. Accessed 5 September 2026.
- Rule 16.4 factsheet for parents. Cafcass. Accessed 5 September 2026.
- K v K [2022] EWCA Civ 468. Courts and Tribunals Judiciary. 8 April 2022. Accessed 5 September 2026.
- Family Procedure Rules 2010, rule 12.73: Communication of information: general. legislation.gov.uk. Accessed 5 September 2026.
- Guide for separated parents: children and the family courts (CB7). HM Courts and Tribunals Service. updated 9 October 2024. Accessed 5 September 2026.
- Assessing Risk of Harm to Children and Parents in Private Law Children Cases: Final Report. Ministry of Justice. June 2020. Accessed 5 September 2026.
- Cafcass judged to be outstanding by Ofsted following full inspection. Cafcass. 2 April 2024. Accessed 5 September 2026.
- The Criminal Justice and Court Services Act 2000 (Commencement No. 4) Order 2001, SI 2001/919. legislation.gov.uk. Brought Chapter II of Part I (Cafcass) into force on 1 April 2001. Accessed 5 September 2026.
- Child arrangements services and prices. Family Law Service (Family Legal Ltd). prices as published 6 September 2026. Accessed 5 September 2026.
External links
This article is part of Family Court Wiki, published by Family Legal Ltd. It is general information about the law of England and Wales, not legal advice. Last reviewed 6 September 2026. About this site and editorial policy · Report an error.