Cafcass Cymru welcomes the publication of the “Everyday Business” Report and the Government’s announcement that the presumption of parental involvement will be repealed.
Cafcass Cymru welcomes the publication of the “Everyday Business” report by the Domestic Abuse Commissioner. The report is based on research led by academics at Loughborough University, which involved analysing 300 case files and observing 100 court hearings, as well as speaking to family justice system professionals and focus groups of survivors.
Whilst the research identified pockets of good practice, the report highlights that there is still much to be done to address the structural barriers that can lead to unsafe outcomes for children and adult survivors – pro-contact culture, adversarial court processes, resource limitations and siloed working – that were identified by the ‘Harm Panel’ report published in 2020.
Cafcass Cymru recognises the need for sustained cultural change. Following the publication of the Harm Panel Report in 2020 and the fieldwork undertaken for the “Everyday Business” study, we have made significant progress in improving our response to domestic abuse. Since 2021, we been supported in our work in this area by Welsh Women’s Aid, within an ongoing secondment arrangement.
We published domestic abuse practice guidance in May 2025 for our practitioners and we are embedding a more trauma-informed approach to our work through our practice framework. Cafcass Cymru remains committed to improving how we identify and respond to coercive and controlling behaviour, which the Domestic Abuse Commissioner’s Report rightly notes is often minimised or overlooked. Through our partnership with the Safe & Together Institute, we are equipping our practitioners with the tools to better understand the impact of domestic abuse on children and families, and to keep the focus on the source of harm: the perpetrator’s behaviour.
Cafcass Cymru welcomes the publication of the Government’s review into the presumption of parental involvement, and the announcement that the presumption will be repealed from the Children Act 1989. We acknowledge that the voices of children have too often been silenced or marginalised due to pro-contact culture. The repeal of the presumption is an important step towards ensuring outcomes for children that are centred on their rights, safety and wellbeing and that protect them from harmful behaviour.
Cafcass Cymru is working to ensure that children’s experiences and wishes are central to our assessments and recommendations. The roll-out of the Pathfinder court across the whole of Wales in April 2025 provides us with the opportunity to ensure that the voice of every child who is subject to private law proceedings in Wales is heard.
We are committed to working collaboratively with our partners across the family justice system, Welsh Government, and the domestic abuse sector to deliver the changes needed. We will continue to listen, learn, and act — holding perpetrators to account for the impact of their behaviour and placing the safety and wellbeing of children and survivors at the heart of everything we do.