Norgrove appointed chair of Family Justice Board

The government has appointed David Norgrove as the chair of the new Family Justice Board.

Creation of the board was one of the main recommendations of the Norgrove review.

The move comes days after the justice select committee wrote to the prime minister in an attempt to persuade him not to go ahead with an amendment to the Children Act on shared parenting – a change that Norgrove specifically advised against.

A spokesman for the MoJ said this morning that the board would be made up of “senior figures representing the key organisations in the family justice system”.

He went on: “The board is focusing on reducing delay across the system, helping it prepare for the introduction of the statutory six-month time limit in care cases.

“The board will also work to build cross-agency coherence, tackle variations in local performance, and ensure more private law cases are resolved out of court, where appropriate.”

Justice minister Jonathan Djanogly said the new position “will be a key role in starting the immediate work on reforming our system.

“This is no easy job and we fully recognise that achieving any significant change is far from simple.

“The reform of family justice is a critical priority for government. Our reforms are ambitious and system-wide and particularly tackle the crucial problem of delay.”

Norgrove said the appointment would be an “opportunity for me to continue the panel’s work in reforming a system that I know can be improved to ensure better outcomes for families and importantly, for children.

“As chair of the Family Justice Board I will be working with organisations and practitioners across the country to improve performance.

“I believe this radical package of reforms will help children and families through cutting the current long delays and through much better support for separating couples who are sorting out their issues.”

Norgrove is currently chairman of Pensions First, the Low Pay Commission and the Amnesty International Charitable Trust.

He was the first chairman of the Pensions Regulator. His earlier career included work in HM Treasury, at First National Bank of Chicago, as private secretary to the Prime Minister, Mrs Thatcher, and as executive director of Marks & Spencer.