Section 7 and Section 37 Reports

1. When Should the Order for a Section 7 Report come to the Local Authority?

Most requests for section 7 reports are directed to CAFCASS, but it may be appropriate for the Local Authority to prepare the report if they have had substantial recent involvement with the child. In this phrase recent means within the last three months, and substantial involvement would include cases in which:

• The Local Authority has carried out an assessment;
• The Local Authority has carried out s47 enquiries;
• The child is the subject of a child protection plan;
• The child is a child in need and a social worker is the lead professional;
• The child or their siblings are looked after children;
• The child is the subject of a supervision order or a family assistance order directed to the Local Authority;
• There is a private fostering arrangement in place; or
• The application before the court has been made as a result of a recommendation by the Local Authority or with its support.

It may also be appropriate for the Local Authority to prepare the report if there has been no substantial recent involvement, but there are current significant allegations of abuse that meet the threshold for intervention.

The request should be directed to CAFCASS if:

• The Local Authority has had no current or recent involvement; or
• The Local Authority had substantial involvement, but the case was closed more than three months ago.

When an application is made, the court will instruct CAFCASS to make safeguarding checks. CAFCASS will contact Dudley MASH, who will advise them whether the child is known. If the child is known, they will refer to the appropriate team.

The court will sometimes order the Local Authority to provide a letter or information from the files or, in urgent cases, for the social worker to attend court. These orders will be processed and forwarded to the allocated social worker or, if the case is unallocated, to the relevant team manager. The social worker or team manager will respond directly to the court.

2. Preparing a Section 7 Report

The court directions should be specific about the issues to be addressed in the report. The social worker should ensure that they are clear about what is required – if the court has specified that certain matters should be dealt with in the report, then the report produced must focus on these issues.

There is an expectation that the social worker who prepares a section 7 report will be aware of, and will fully take into account, any statutory guidance relevant to the issues in the case. Failure to do so may lead to a wasted costs order against the Local Authority.

Section 7 reports are generally requested when there is disagreement about who a child should live with and have contact with. The social worker preparing the report should therefore see the child with each person for whom the question of residence or contact arises. They should also see the child alone unless it seems inappropriate to do so, and should note any views or wishes expressed by the child and attempt to form an opinion as to whether these views are spontaneous or the result of pressure from any adult.

The social worker may draw up the Section 7 report – there is a template for this in the Practice Guidance section. The court will not accept an assessment for this purpose, but a recent 47 assessment can be referenced or exhibited to the Section 7 report.

The social worker should explain the contents of the report to the child, particularly the recommendations and the account of the child's views, as far as is appropriate to the child's age and understanding.

If problems arise and the report will not be ready by the court deadline, the social worker should alert the team manager immediately. The team manager will write to the court asking for an extension.

If, in the course of the investigation, the social worker feels that action should be taken under the child protection procedures, they should immediately consult the team manager and, if section 47 enquiries are initiated, notify the court of this. The section 7 investigation and the section 47 enquiries will run side by side. The court will expect to be kept informed of the progress of the assessment, and the child protection conference should consider whether making one or more section 8 orders would address the child's need for protection.

3. Section 37 Reports: Legal Duties

On receiving a direction under Section 37, the Local Authority should investigate the child's circumstances and decide whether to:

• Apply for a Care Order or for a Supervision Order; or
• Provide services or assistance for the child or for their family; or
• Take any other action.

This decision must be made with reference to the Right Help, Right Time Indicators.

If the Local Authority, after investigating, decide not to initiate care proceedings, it should inform the court in writing of:

• The reasons for taking this decision;
• Any service or assistance which it has provided or intends to provide for the child and her/his family;
• Any other action which it has taken, or intends to take, with respect to the child.

The court may give directions setting a time by which the report must be filed. In the absence of such directions, it should be filed within 8 weeks of the date on which the direction to investigate was issued.

4. Receiving a Direction for a s37 Report

On receiving a direction to provide a section 37 report, Legal Services will send a memo with the court papers to the appropriate team. This will state the date by which the Local Authority should file the report with the court. The report should be given to Legal Services at least five working days before this date. The team manager should notify Legal Services as soon as possible about any anticipated difficulty in complying with the filing date.

On receiving the direction, the team manager will allocate responsibility to a social worker and notify Legal Services of the name of the allocated worker.

The social worker should:

• Study any documents served with the directions and ensure that they understand
• their significance;
• Consider any directions regarding the investigations to be carried out; and
• Decide whether it is possible to complete the necessary work before the date set for reporting back to the court. If it is unlikely that investigations will be complete by that date, the social worker should discuss the situation with Legal Services as soon as this is known, as an application will have to be made to the court for an extension of time.

A social worker preparing a Section 37 report does not have an automatic right to read all the reports filed with the court and it may be helpful to seek directions from the court allowing the worker to see any relevant reports that have been withheld.

There is an expectation that the social worker who prepares a section 37 report will be aware of, and will fully take into account, any statutory guidance relevant to the issues in the case. Failure to do so may lead to a wasted costs order against the Local Authority.

5. Making the Decision

The social worker and team manager will discuss the significance of the information collected, including the views of the children's guardian. They will decide whether the Local Authority should initiate care proceedings and, if not, what alternative action to take.

The court will not make an order based on the report: if the decision is that care proceedings should be initiated, an application should be made. If the decision is that care proceedings should not be initiated, the team manager should decide whether the decision should be reviewed and, if so, when the review will begin and what form it will take.

6. The Section 37 Report

There is a template for a Section 37 Report in the Practice Guidance Section. The report should be filed with the court by the date stated on the direction to investigate. If no date is stated, it should be filed within 8 weeks of the direction being issued. If it is unlikely that investigations will be complete by that date, the social worker should discuss the situation with Legal Services as soon as this is known, as an application will have to be made to the court for an extension of time. If the Local Authority fails to meet the time limit set, the court will make a Wasted Costs Order against it.

The social worker will sign and date the report and send a copy to Legal Services who will file it with the court. Care should be taken to ensure that the report arrives at Legal Services at least five working days before the court deadline.