Conclusion 26

MoJ told us that there are separate accounting officers for each part of the system, and that each could account for the costs for which they were responsible.62 MoJ accepted, however, that they did not know the cost of the family justice system in totality, including spending by local authorities.63 Local authorities, which incur substantial costs before and during care proceedings, do not report their spending on family-justice-related services separately from overall spending on family support and children’s social care.64 MoJ told us that the system as a whole is inherently complex, involving multiple departments, at a national and local level, and that for some parts it is very difficult to isolate a single figure.It cited as an example the systems for public and private law cases that share some resources with the aim of getting best value.65 The ‘Pathfinder’ pilot scheme