Expert witness fee cuts, puts children at risk

The government have been warned that child safety will suffer, if independent social work experts (ISWs) are excluded from being expert family court witnesses. From October 2010 the Ministry of Justice will reduce by around 50% the fees paid to ISWs who give advice to family courts in public law cases concerning children.

Child care professionals from NAGALRO, BASW, ALC, and ISWA met government representatives to educate them on the work done by independent experts and warn them of the risks to children if the proposed fee cuts cause many to quit.

The groups said that they are astounded as to why they have been singled out for severe fee cuts, which will cause many ISWs to leave family court work, and leave vulnerable children and families to pay the price.

The decision to reduce fees is badly timed given the current crisis in social work; the loss of ISW expertise will increase costs elsewhere in the family justice system; and will leave children more vulnerable to poor assessments. The reduction in fees may also see courts move to more expensive experts like psychologists to fill the gap, resulting in a rise in costs

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