MoJ and DfE do not have the data they need to fully understand the reasons for poor performance and design well targeted improvements. There remain significant gaps in family justice data. HMCTS does not collect enough demographic information on children, and there are no data on outcomes for different user groups; or for the prevalence of domestic abuse in private law cases. MoJ and DfE still struggle to fully understand what are the triggers that have the most impact on case length, for example capacity constraints, or the need for expert reports, making it difficult to understand 5 where to prioritise efforts to reduce delay. Delays in cases weigh heavily on children, in particular for domestic abuse victims, but understanding of the differential impacts on different groups of service users, or what happens to children after court remains poor. It is not yet possible to follow a child from end-to-end through the family justice system, although the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill now progressing through Parliament contains a provision to introduce a single child unique identifier, which could make a material difference. In addition, not enough is known about what happens to children at the end of proceedings. A further significant data gap is that MoJ and DfE do not know how much is spent on family justice across the system, including spending by local authorities. recommendation MoJ and DfE, working with HMCTS, Cafcass and Local Authorities, in consultation with the Judiciary, should set out a joined-up data and evidence strategy over the next six months. This strategy should outline how the department will collect better data on: • most important causes of delays and inefficiencies; • tracking a child’s progress through the system from end to end; • differential outcomes for user groups; and • the ‘whole system’ costs of family justice.