Skip to content

Children Act 1989, s. 7 — Welfare reports (verbatim)

Jurisdiction: England & Wales · Citation: Children Act 1989, s. 7 · Authoritative source: legislation.gov.uk — s. 7

The operative provision governing welfare reports in family proceedings — the statutory foundation of the Section 7 report (commonly called the "s. 7 report" or "CAFCASS report") that is the principal evidential pathway for welfare-assessment input to the court in contested private-law children cases. The s. 7 report is doctrinally central to PA litigation because it is the principal vehicle through which the welfare-assessment professional (CAFCASS officer / Welsh Family Proceedings Officer / local authority assessor) presents conduct-pattern analysis to the court.

Verbatim text (current consolidated)

s. 7 — Welfare reports

(1) A court considering any question with respect to a child under this Act may—

(a) ask an officer of the Service or a Welsh family proceedings officer; or

(b) ask a local authority to arrange for—

(i) an officer of the authority; or

(ii) such other person (other than an officer of the Service or a Welsh family proceedings officer) as the authority considers appropriate,

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.

(2) The Lord Chancellor may, after consulting the Lord Chief Justice, make regulations specifying matters which, unless the court orders otherwise, must be dealt with in any report under this section.

(3) The report may be made in writing, or orally, as the court requires.

(4) Regardless of any enactment or rule of law which would otherwise prevent it from doing so, 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.

(5) It shall be the duty of the authority or officer of the Service or a Welsh family proceedings officer to comply with any request for a report under this section.

(6) The Lord Chief Justice may nominate a judicial office holder (as defined in section 109(4) of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005) to exercise his functions under subsection (2).

Why this matters for PA

  • The s. 7 report is the principal welfare-assessment evidence in private-law children cases. Where a contested children matter is before the court, the s. 7 report by CAFCASS (or the Welsh Family Proceedings Officer, or a local authority assessor) typically frames the welfare-assessment analysis. In PA cases, the report is the principal vehicle through which the welfare-assessment professional presents:
  • Direct observation of child-targeted-parent interaction
  • Assessment of the resident parent's facilitation conduct
  • Indicia of alienating-conduct pattern (sustained disparagement, contact-frustration, false allegations, mobilising the child)
  • Welfare-impact analysis
  • Recommendations to the court
  • Subsection (1) — three categories of reporter. The court can request a report from (a) a CAFCASS officer / Welsh family proceedings officer (the typical pathway), (b) a local authority officer, or © "such other person" the authority considers appropriate. The choice of reporter is doctrinally significant — CAFCASS officers are court-appointed welfare-assessment specialists; local authority officers are often social workers with broader generalist remit.
  • Subsection (4) — admissibility expansion. Regardless of any enactment or rule of law which would otherwise prevent it from doing so — the court may take account of statements in the report and evidence given on the report's matters. This is a doctrinally important admissibility expansion: hearsay rules that would ordinarily exclude evidence are displaced for s. 7 report purposes. The welfare-assessment professional can include third-party statements (school, GP, extended family) without the typical hearsay strictures.
  • Subsection (5) — mandatory compliance. It shall be the duty of the authority or officer of the Service or a Welsh family proceedings officer to comply with any request for a report under this section. The reporter cannot refuse a court request. This procedural protection ensures the welfare-assessment input is available where the court determines it is needed.
  • The interaction with the welfare checklist (s. 1(3)). The s. 7 report typically addresses each factor in the welfare checklist under s. 1(3) CA 1989 — wishes and feelings of the child; physical, emotional and educational needs; likely effect of change; age, sex, background; harm suffered or at risk of suffering; capability of parents; range of powers available. In PA cases, the report's analysis of "wishes and feelings" is doctrinally critical — see child's voice age thresholds comparative.

Procedural application

  • The court orders the s. 7 report on application or of its own motion at the first contested hearing
  • The timetable is typically 8-12 weeks for the report to be filed
  • The s. 7 report is shared with the parties before the hearing
  • The reporter may be required to attend the hearing for cross-examination on the report (subsection (4) admissibility extends to "evidence given in respect of the matters referred to in the report")
  • Where the welfare-assessment professional makes specific recommendations, the court is not bound by them but must give reasons for departing from them

Use in alienating-conduct cases

  • The s. 7 report is the principal evidential vehicle for establishing alienating-conduct findings
  • The CAFCASS officer's assessment of (a) the resident parent's facilitation conduct, (b) the child's expressed-view autonomy, © the welfare impact of the established conduct is what the court relies on
  • The Family Justice Council's Practice Guidance on Children's Resistance/Refusal (and the CAFCASS Tools for Practitioners on PA) provide the methodological framework that CAFCASS officers apply in PA-pattern cases
  • Where the s. 7 report establishes alienating conduct, the court can engage the s. 11J enforcement and s. 11O compensation tools, or proceed to s. 8 child-arrangements-order modification including residence reallocation

Leading authorities

  • Re T (Welfare Report: Recommendation) — court is not bound by the welfare professional's recommendation but must give reasons for departing
  • Re A (Children) (Domestic Violence: Cross-examination) + Re K (Allegations of Domestic Violence) — interaction with Practice Direction 12J on DV-affected cases
  • Re S-W (Children) (Care Proceedings: Case Management Hearing) — procedural framework for s. 7 reports in contested matters

Cross-reference

Sources & authoritative references

Referenced in this page:

Topic baseline (independently verifiable):