Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent discussion he has had with the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on the adequacy of the delivery of adoption services by local authorities.

The government has driven significant improvements to adoption services in recent years. The average duration between entry into care and being adopted has decreased by six months between 2013 and 2017 to two years.[1] The Adoption Support Fund has provided over £62 million of therapeutic support to over 21,000 families since it was launched in 2015. My Rt Hon. Friend The Secretary of State meets the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government regularly to discuss a range of topics, including children’s services provision.

[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoption-2016-to-2017.