Conclusion 23

An overall assessment of the drivers of performance is important to support the system to focus on areas most likely to secure improvements. A whole-system approach is needed to deliver outcomes no individual body can achieve alone.50 MoJ told us that capacity, demand, case complexity and productivity all drive the backlogs.51 But no overall assessment has yet been made of the importance of different factors contributing to delays, and how they are going to be put right, making it difficult to understand where to prioritise efforts to reduce delay.52 MoJ and DfE told us that they have a shared view of the causes of delay but thought there was more to do on data and evidence.53 Cafcass suggested it would be helpful to convene all bodies to discuss the main five or six real triggers for delays.54 The way data and evidence are currently collected and published does not allow the departments to break causes down easily to distinguish specific factors and what could be done to address them.55