Children’s minister Michelle Donelan has written to directors of children’s services urging them to do more to prioritise adoption. In the letter, Donelan implies that a failure to properly follow adoption guidelines is a factor in the decline in prospective adopters coming forward and being approved.
The government has decided to act after latest figures show the number of looked-after children adopted has fallen by a third since 2015. The key reason for the fall in adoptions over the past five years is the impact of a 2014 ruling in the family court in the Re B-S case. This was a shot across the bows of social workers to explore all care options before applying for an adoption order. Instead of addressing the issues raised in the case, the government has focused its ire on council procedures and practices (See Analysis).
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