§ Tim LoughtonTo ask the Secretary of State for Educaiton and Skills what the(a) average and (b) longest waiting time is for care proceedings in family courts. [156527]
§ Mr. LeslieThe average time taken for a care case to pass through a Care Centre, which deals with the more complex cases, was 52.5 weeks in December. The average time taken for a care case to pass through a Family Proceedings Court (FPC), which deals with about half of all cases of this type, is lower. Centrally held data does not record the longest waiting time. More complete and accurate figures for both FPCs and Care Centres will be available by the end of March.