WIREDGOV

Lords are being urged to overturn heavy-handed Government proposals which could jeopardise progress being made recruiting more adopters for children in care.

It follows latest figures released by the Department for Education last month which showed a record increase in the number of looked-after children adopted last year.

Measures being proposed in the Children and Families Bill would give the Education Secretary new powers to remove local authorities from the process of recruiting and assessing new adoptive parents.

The Local Government Association (LGA) and voluntary adoption agencies have warned against the measure, which they fear could reverse recent improvements, destabilise the sector and adversely impact on children and parents. Four in every five adoptive mums and dads are currently recruited by local authorities, with the remaining one in five signed up by voluntary adoption agencies.

Councils are calling on Peers to back calls by Lord Storey and Baroness Hamwee to scrap the measure from the Bill, when it is discussed in the House of Lords today.

Cllr David Simmonds, Chairman of the LGA's Children and Young People Board, said:

"We all agree that we need to change the unacceptable fact there are too many children in care waiting for loving homes and too few adopters coming forward. Significant improvements are already being made which led to the record increase in the number of children being placed with adoptive mums and dads last year.

"Removing councils from the process of recruiting adopters at this crucial time would be a reckless gamble that risks jeopardising the significant progress being made. This is an unnecessary, heavy-handed step in the wrong direction which risks making things worse for children and adopters.

"Councils are urging members of the House of Lords to support this common sense amendment and ensure this badly thought out proposal does not become law.

"Adoptive parents tell us that the relationship with their council lasts long after they adopt. It is crucial that we have a joined-up adoption system which gives adopters a consistent point of contact from the moment they enquire about adopting to long after they have taken a child into their family.

"Government's starting point for recruiting more adopters needs to be working with councils, not seeking to remove them from the process altogether."

Local authorities, through the LGA, Society of Local Authority Chief Executives (SOLACE) and the Association of Directors of Children's Services earlier this year set out alternative proposals aimed at significantly increasing the number of adopters recruited and speeding up the process of finding new homes for children in care. Councils believe that voluntary adoption agencies have an important role to play working alongside local authorities to find more adoptive parents, rather than replacing local authorities.

Notes to editors 

1. Latest Government statistics on adoption show there were 3,980 looked-after children adopted during the year ending 31 March 2013, an increase of 15 per cent from 2012 and an increase of 20 per cent from 2009.

2. The LGA, which represents more than 370 councils in England and Wales, has issued a briefing to Lords ahead of the Committee Stage of the Children and Families Bill.

LGA briefing to Lords ahead of the Committee Stage of the Children and Families Bill

3. Full details of local government's sector-led plan for increasing adopter recruitment can be found below:

Local government's sector-led plan for increasing adopter recruitment

Contact

Simon Ward Senior Media Relations Officer
Local Government Association
Telephone: 020 7664 3147
Email: simon.ward@local.gov.uk