Adoption placement order decline continues unabated

Data from the Adoption Leadership Board reveals the number of court orders approved so that children can be adopted – known as placement orders – fell to 780 in the three months to 30 September 2014 from a rate of 1,550 at the same point a year earlier.

The latest figure on placement orders is in line with declines over the previous four quarters: between April and June 2014 there were 910 orders granted; from January to March 2014 there were 1,090; and from October and December 2013 there were 1,170.

The near halving of placement orders over the past year has been attributed to an appeal court ruling made in September 2013 by Sir James Munby in the case of Re B-S in which he criticised the “sloppy practice” of social workers and said that local authorities must provide evidence that all alternatives to adoption had been considered before bringing a case to court.

Although record numbers of children were adopted in 2013/14 – 5,050 compared with 4,010 in 2012/13 – and 2,510 in the first half of 2014/15, adoption experts have warned that the decline in placement orders is likely to result in a fall in the number of children adopted in the future.

The latest data bears out their concerns. The number of children who have a placement order and are waiting to be adopted has fallen by 26 per cent in the first half of 2014/15, from 4,680 at 31 March to 3,470 at 30 September.

In addition, the number of children approved for adoption by agency decision makers has fallen from 1,220 at 30 March 2014 to 990 in September.

The number of registrations to become an adopter also decreased by one fifth in the second quarter of 2014/15.

In a separate move to clarify adoption practice for social workers, a Court of Appeal judgment this week ruled that where adoption is in the child’s best interests, local authorities and courts must not shy away from making care orders with a plan for adoption.

The British Association for Adoption and Fostering (BAAF) said the ruling could help stem the fall in adoption placement orders by explaining the lengths social workers should go to consider alternatives to adoption.

Alexandra Conroy-Harris, legal consultant at BAAF, said: “There has been a great deal of uncertainty around adoption for several months which has directly impacted on some of the most vulnerable children in society with adoption plans falling by almost 50 per cent. This judgment will help both courts and local authorities when making decisions regarding the long-term future of these children.”

The Department for Education also welcomed the ruling.

A DfE spokesperson said: “We remain concerned about the continuing decrease in the number of children with an adoption decision, but are pleased that the Court of Appeal has re-affirmed that previous judgments did not change the law in relation to adoption, and councils must not shy away from pursuing adoption where this is in the best interests of children.

"We will continue to monitor the situation closely.”

The DfE also published the annual adoption performance tables and adoption scorecards that details the performance of local authorities against a range of measures.