Social Worker Says Cafcass Took Him Off a Child’s Case for Writing ‘She/Her’. Now the Agency Faces a Legal Challenge

News | By Matt, Editor

A former Cafcass social worker says he was removed as a child’s guardian in care proceedings because he wrote “she/her” rather than “they/them” in his official reports. Charles Plummer is now challenging the agency’s transgender guidance, and Cafcass has until 11 November to respond or face a judicial review in the High Court. (Telegraph, 30 October 2026; GB News, 30 October 2026)

Mr Plummer said he always used the child’s preferred pronouns in person, but used “she/her” in written reports because the alternative made safeguarding documents “incomprehensible”. “Professional practice within child safeguarding requires clear, precise and non-ideological language,” he said. (Telegraph, 30 October 2026)

Cafcass is a taxpayer-funded body that advises family court judges on the future of children. The question now is whether it can tell its own experts which words to use in evidence put before those judges.

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Key facts

• The case: he was appointed as the guardian in February 2024. A local authority social worker raised concerns with her manager about his “impact” on the child. After an escalated complaint from that social worker and the child’s school about his pronouns, he was removed from the case in March 2024. (Telegraph, via AOL)
• The parent: he said he had told the child’s mother, who was “entirely accepting of this and understood my reasoning”. (GB News)
• Inside Cafcass: he claims superiors told him Cafcass “cannot be gender critical”, and that internal emails said his stance caused “clear reputational damage” to the agency before the case was reallocated. (Telegraph, via AOL)
• The challenge: Mr Plummer, who resigned from Cafcass earlier this year, has sent a pre-action letter with Bayswater Support Group and an anonymous third claimant, demanding the agency suspend its guidance. The letter says he first raised concerns in 2023 and received no substantive response. (Telegraph, via AOL)

Inside the guidance: “prejudice and bigotry”

Cafcass, the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service, advises the family courts in England on what is best for children. Its guidance tells staff to write reports using a transitioning child’s “new name and pronouns” so as to “not invalidate the gender in which the child identifies”. It says children “should not be forced to pretend they are not transgender to please a parent”. (Telegraph, via AOL)

It goes on: “Some parents simply do not accept that transgender people exist and carry prejudice and bigotry that they project onto their child. In that dynamic, the child cannot be themselves and may become homeless or be abused by the parent or other family members and child protection issues arise.” (Telegraph, via AOL; GB News)

The pre-action letter says the guidance presents “contested propositions” about gender identity “as though they represent settled professional practice”, and claims it does not acknowledge the clinical, safeguarding or legal debates. (Telegraph, via AOL)

Mr Plummer said: “Cafcass does vital work in helping the family courts to make the best welfare decisions and achieving the best possible outcomes for society’s most vulnerable children. However, the guidance as it currently stands does not allow practitioners to exercise appropriate professional curiosity or properly consider the many risk factors that may underlie a child’s presenting gender distress from established child development perspectives. It’s ‘affirmation only’ for the child and suspicion for parents who have the same concerns.” (GB News)

Out of step with Cass, the courts and the Government

The NHS-commissioned Cass Review, published on 10 April 2024, said social transition should be seen as “an active intervention” because it “may have significant effects on the child or young person in terms of their psychological functioning and longer-term outcomes”. It found “no clear evidence” that social transition helps or harms mental health in childhood, and said “a more cautious approach needs to be taken for children than for adolescents”. (Independent, 10 April 2024)

The Labour Government has accepted the case for caution elsewhere. In December 2024 Health Secretary Wes Streeting made the ban on puberty blockers for under-18s indefinite. (GOV.UK, 11 December 2024) In April 2025 the Supreme Court ruled that “woman” in the Equality Act means a biological woman. (UK Supreme Court)

The Cafcass guidance, by contrast, says: “Evidence shows that young people who have parents/wider family who are supportive of their transgender identity are more likely to have good mental health, including improved outcomes.” The claimants say it does not acknowledge the debates. (GB News)

Cafcass responds

Cafcass confirmed it had received the letter. A spokesman said: “Cafcass practitioners have a statutory duty to safeguard children and promote their welfare throughout proceedings. Our guidance on working with children and gender identity is intended to provide advice and assistance to those practitioners working with children and young people who are exploring and/or questioning their identity in respect of gender.” (Telegraph, via AOL)

Who pays

Taxpayers do, on both sides. Cafcass received £156.8m in grant funding from the Ministry of Justice in 2024-25, up from £152.5m the year before, according to its latest annual accounts. (Cafcass annual report and accounts 2024-25) Any judicial review will be defended with public money.

What happens next

Cafcass has until Wednesday 11 November to respond to the letter. If the claimants are not satisfied, they say they will issue a formal judicial review claim in the High Court. (Telegraph, via AOL)

Our view

This section is opinion.

A guardian’s report is written for a judge deciding a child’s future. It has to be clear. Mr Plummer did not refuse to be kind to the child in the room. He refused to let official records become confusing, and he says the mother agreed. For that, according to his account, a public body took him off the case.

State bodies should not decide which words a professional must use in a court document. The guidance’s line about parents who “carry prejudice and bigotry” also tells families that asking questions makes them suspects. This is the same compelled-speech culture we saw when a Labour council pushed pronoun declarations on staff.

Labour ministers accepted the Cass Review’s caution for the NHS. They sponsor Cafcass and should apply that same caution there. Ministers should not wait for a judge to tell Cafcass to think again.

FAQ

What is a judicial review?

It is a case in which the High Court decides whether a public body acted lawfully. The claimants say they will bring one if Cafcass does not meet their demands by 11 November.

Who oversees Cafcass?

Cafcass is a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Ministry of Justice, which means ministers answer to Parliament for it. (GOV.UK)

What is a children’s guardian?

In care proceedings, a Cafcass guardian is appointed to represent the child’s interests independently and to advise the court on what is best for them.

Sources

• The Telegraph, Ruby Cline, 30 October 2026: Social worker ‘removed from case for refusing to use they/them pronouns’ (also syndicated on AOL)
• GB News, Dan McDonald, 30 October 2026: Social worker removed as family’s guardian for ‘refusing to use they/them pronouns’
• The Independent, Storm Newton, 10 April 2024: Social transition in children could create urgency for puberty blockers – report
• GOV.UK, 11 December 2024: Ban on puberty blockers to be made indefinite on experts’ advice
• UK Supreme Court: For Women Scotland Ltd v The Scottish Ministers
• GOV.UK, 11 December 2025: Cafcass annual report and accounts 2024 to 2025
• Main image: The Royal Courts of Justice in London, home of the High Court. Photo: David Castor, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain (CC0).