Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent comparative assessment has he made of the levels of (a) financial and (b) other support available to (i) self-employed and (ii) employed adoptive parents.

The government wants the adoption system to welcome prospective adopters from all walks of life and backgrounds. The overall intention of the statutory framework is to ensure that the adoption of a child or the continuation of adoption arrangements should not be prevented because of lack of financial support.

Prospective adopters are entitled to an assessment of their family’s needs. However, information about the uptake of adoption leave or its affordability for new adoptive parents is not collected centrally

It is open to local authorities to make discretionary payments to assist adoptive families. Statutory adoption guidance encourages them to do so where adopters do not qualify for any statutory payment because of their self-employment, given that financial and other support available to self-employed and employed adoptive parents is not directly comparable in all respects.