Equality Act Training: completion rates in CAFCASS

The request was partially successful.

Dear Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service,

Please supply the following information under FOIA:

1. The training modules available to CAFCASS ‘specifically’ training staff on the 2010 Equality Act from 2009 -2019

2. Please provide completion rates year on year from 2009 - 2019

3. Please supply all documents, training, knowledge bites, guidance, guidelines or any information ‘specifically’ pertaining only to the 2010 Equality Act

Yours faithfully,

[Name Removed]

Governance, Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service

1 Attachment

Dear Ms Soeder,

 

Thank you for your email.

 

Please note that Cafcass does not have training modules, guidance or
knowledge bites ‘specifically’  for staff on the 2010 Equality Act from
2009 -2019 only.

 

Cafcass has mandatory eLearning modules on Diversity & Inclusion for
Family Court Advisers (FCAs) and Diversity & Inclusion for non-practice
staff. Whilst these both make reference to the Equality Act, they are not
specifically pertaining only to the Act.

 

Cafcass’ anti-discriminatory practice as set out in paragraphs 2.40 - 2.47
of the [1]Cafcass Operating Framework  also makes reference to the  2010
Equality Act:

 

Practitioners need to analyse specific diversity case factors in relation
to relevance and vulnerability as they apply to an individual child or
family. ‘Relevance’ means deciding whether the diversity factor makes a
difference to the issue in the case or to the application. If it does, it
is relevant and must be analysed in depth (UNCRC, Articles 2 and 23).
‘Vulnerability’ means that the child is adversely affected by one or more
diversity factors, either directly or indirectly, and therefore this
becomes an essential element of the evidence base in the case about child
impact. The same framework of relevance and vulnerability applies to all
our obligations under the Equality Act 2010, such as gender, religion and
sexuality or gender factors, also referring where needed to the welfare
checklist.

 

Kind regards,

 

Governance Team | Cafcass

* [2][CAFCASS request email] | ü [3]www.cafcass.gov.uk 

[4]Cafcass_Logo_2014_email

 

 

 

 

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Dear Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service,

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.

I am writing to request an internal review of Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service's handling of my FOI request 'Equality Act Training: completion rates in CAFCASS

Please provide all information giving CAFCASS FCA’s guidance on how they apply the Equality Act 2010 in each individual case. Provide every document available to all staff which gives them guidance on the Equality acts application. This should narrow my scope and encompass each point in this request. Please narrow the scope supply information in every document CAFCASS hold that includes the words Equality Act.

The Equality Act is central and of relevance to children because it applies to ‘every child’ connected to a family member which may be an applicant ‘with a protected characteristic; the child is connected to the persons protected characteristic’ therefore application of the Equality would be routinely applied; not breached.

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/e...

Yours faithfully,

[Name Removed]

Governance, Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service

1 Attachment

Dear Ms Soeder,

 

Thank you for your email which let us know that you were unhappy with the
decision made in the FOI response to your request regarding Equality Act
Training and requested a review of the decision. Your reference number is
CAF19-177.

 

This email to acknowledge that your request was received on 15 October
2019 and will be dealt with under the terms of the Freedom of Information
Act 2000.

 

A Senior Officer who was not party to the original decision on whether to
release the information will conduct the internal review. An internal
review involves a review of the decision on disclosure in the original
response and the way in which the request was handled. The internal
reviewer can either uphold or overturn the original decision.

 

Cafcass will notify you as to the final decision made regarding your
internal review 20 working days from receipt of your request.  You will
therefore receive a response on or before 11 November 2019.

 

Kind regards,

 

Governance Team | Cafcass

* [1][email address] | ü [2]www.cafcass.gov.uk 

[3]Cafcass_Logo_2014_email

 

 

 

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Governance, Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service

2 Attachments

Dear Ms Soeder,

 

Thank you for your email. Please find attached our response to your
request for an internal review of your Freedom of Information request.

 

Kind regards,

 

Governance Team | Cafcass

* [1][CAFCASS request email] | ü [2]www.cafcass.gov.uk

[3]Cafcass_Logo_2014_email

 

 

 

Cafcass email addresses have changed to end in @cafcass.gov.uk. Please
ensure you update your address book. For more information on this change
please see our  [4]website

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Dear Governance,

For accuracy where you state CAFCASS can not provide all information it hold advising staff on the Equality however this appears to be inaccurate as there appears to be little reference/guidance on information to the Equality Act and I believe CAFCASS could easily provide the information pertaining to it in their guidelines as such scant information is held for example please show what information is held in your operating framework ...one line ?

I believe CAFCASS could easily provide what little information is held and available to staff therefore please provide what CAFCASS do hold. This should not be burdensome to CAFCASS.

Yours sincerely,

[Name Removed]

Governance, Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service

3 Attachments

Dear Ms Soeder,

 

Thank you for your email.

 

Our response to your internal review did not state that Cafcass cannot
provide all information it holds advising staff on the Equality Act. Our
response stated ‘Cafcass is unable to supply every document Cafcass holds
that includes the words Equality Act’.

 

We have already provided you with the reference to the Operating Framework
which references the Equality Act, this was provided in response to your
original Freedom of Information request. Please see below for the extract:

 

2.43 Practitioners need to analyse specific diversity case factors in
relation to relevance and vulnerability as they apply to an individual
child or family. ‘Relevance’ means deciding whether the diversity factor
makes a difference to the issue in the case or to the application. If it
does, it is relevant and must be analysed in depth (UNCRC, Articles 2 and
23). ‘Vulnerability’ means that the child is adversely affected by one or
more diversity factors, either directly or indirectly, and therefore this
becomes an essential element of the evidence base in the case about child
impact. The same framework of relevance and vulnerability applies to all
our obligations under the Equality Act 2010, such as gender, religion and
sexuality or gender factors, also referring where needed to the welfare
checklist.

 

Cafcass has mandatory eLearning modules on Diversity & Inclusion for
Family Court Advisers (FCAs) and Diversity & Inclusion for non-practice
staff which make reference to the Equality Act, please find attached
copies of the storyboard for these modules.

 

Kind regards,

 

Governance Team | Cafcass

* [1][CAFCASS request email] | ü [2]www.cafcass.gov.uk 

[3]Cafcass_Logo_2014_email

 

 

 

 

 

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Dear Governance,

1. To narrow the scope I am unable to find, in the information CAFCASS have provided the Equality Act guidance CAFCASS have available toSenior service managers: SSM’s that guides them to provide information that CAFCASS can not look at a fresh complaint of ‘Indirect Discrimination’ where has already been a previous complaint of another strand/type of discrimination ? Please provide information Senior service managers hold in this respect ?

2. I am unable to find information that demonstrates how after one closed discrimination complaint of direct discrimination enables CAFCASS senior service managers to provide information justifying CAFCASS not looking at Indirect discrimination held with CAFCASS PCP’s when identified as such
Yours sincerely,

[Name Removed]

Governance, Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service

1 Attachment

Dear Ms Soeder,

 

Thank you for your email.

 

Cafcass does not have Equality Act guidance available to Senior service
managers that guides them to provide information that Cafcass cannot look
at a fresh complaint of ‘Indirect Discrimination’ where has already been 
a previous complaint of another strand/type of discrimination.

 

As stated in our complaints procedure (section 3.5 )Cafcass has a
responsibility to maintain a satisfactory level of service for all who
make a complaint. Where frequent and/or repetitive contact impedes
Cafcass’ proper consideration of a complaint, or the complaints of others,
we may need to limit our communication with the complainant while the
complaint is investigated. We will inform the complainant when a decision
to limit communication has been made, under our guidance on managing
unacceptable behaviour. The Customer Service Team may refuse to accept
complaints from unreasonably persistent complainants.

 

Kind regards,

 

Governance Team | Cafcass

* [1][CAFCASS request email] | ü [2]www.cafcass.gov.uk 

[3]Cafcass_Logo_2014_email

 

 

 

 

 

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