Nicky Morgan: BAAF collapse has 'no long-term implications'

Appearing before the education select committee today, Morgan was quizzed on the sudden closure of the charity, which went into administration on 31 July, citing "significant changes and prevailing economic conditions".

Asked what analysis the Department for Education (DfE) had conducted into the implications of the collapse, which resulted in the loss of around 50 jobs, Morgan predicted there will be no lasting impact.

“We are aware of the reasons why [BAAF collapsed],” she said. “I think there were financial reasons.

“But their work has been taken on by another agency whose name I now can’t remember.

“We are actually not concerned about there being any long-term implications.”

Morgan went on to clarify that children’s charity Coram has taken on BAAF’s functions.

“We are very confident that they will be able to maintain the standards of the work,” she said.

Morgan’s first public comments on the closure come amid growing calls for clarity on how the organisation collapsed so suddenly and the way in which functions were transferred to Coram.

The Charity Commission is currently considering whether to investigate the collapse after being sent a letter by two former chief executives of the charity calling for an official probe.

In a wide-ranging session, Morgan also fielded questions about a continuing decline in numbers of children being approved for adoption – with latest figures showing a 36 per cent year-on-year drop.

Morgan said the drop was a result of two judgments handed down by the Family Court last year.

“We have been working with the head of the Family Court [Sir James Munby] to look.

“The judgments, I think, made those involved in the adoption process perhaps more nervous to question, to slow down the process and we felt that wasn’t particularly the way that we wanted to see the process develop,” she said.

“This is not a numbers game. This is about finding children permanent loving homes and making sure that if there are other family members then that option is considered.

“So it is making sure that the right considerations are taken into account by the courts, by those involved, by social workers, into the decisions that are taken.

“But I think we are concerned that the judgment – it was something that we felt wasn’t helpful – and it was particularly about slowing things down.

“I think the important thing is about making sure that, within reasonable boundaries, everyone’s views are heard but the process doesn’t take so long that actually children are spending longer and longer in unstable placements.”

In July this year, the government's adoption adviser Sir Martin Narey warned that unless the fall in the number of placement orders being sought by social workers is addressed, the total number of children being adopted is set for an “alarming drop".