Social Care News: Adoption - Tact announces expansion plans

The move is part of a series of deals with smaller adoption agencies that Tact has planned for the next year.

Kevin Williams, Tact's chief executive, said the move had been taken because "the increasing use of regional commissioning by councils has had a financial impact, particularly on smaller adoption agencies, and led them to consider other options, including approaching us."

A spokesman for Tact, which has an interim management team in place at the Independent Adoption Service, said the merger had not yet been finalised.

Williams added that by early summer further mergers are planned, which are set to take Tact's annual turnover to around £30m.

Meanwhile, the Consortium of Voluntary Adoption Agencies has received £13,000 from the Government to help improve agencies' business and marketing skills. Consortium trustee Yvette Gayford says she knows of two other agencies considering a similar move to the one taken by the Independent Adoption Service.