Did you know there was a minister for sport and civil society? Neither did the president of the family division.

Listing the alarming number of Whitehall departments responsible for children and families at a Howard League for Penal Reform event last week, Sir James Munby said a recent announcement of extra cash for family drug and alcohol courts was made by the parliamentary undersecretary of state for sport. Despite spending five years in his current role, Munby was also ‘completely unaware’ this department was involved in courts until that announcement.

But in this austere era, we should welcome any investment from the government. Maybe the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has cash to spare?

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