Between 31 March 2000 and 31 March 2008
- the number of guardianship cases in force at the end of the year (919) was 8 per cent lower than at its peak (999) in 2000
- the number of new cases opened during 2007-08 (414) has decreased by 29 per cent (169) compared with 2001 (583), and also showed a decrease of 3 per cent compared with 2006-07