Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the effect of the policy under the Adoption and Children Act 2002 that consideration to the child’s religious persuasion, racial origin and cultural and linguistic background is made when placing the child for adoption on the average time it takes to place black children for adoption.

In 2014 the government removed the requirement for adoption agencies to give “due consideration to a child’s religious persuasion, racial origin, and cultural and linguistic background” when matching a child and prospective adopters. This was to avoid any suggestion that the legislation placed a child's religious persuasion, racial origin and cultural and linguistic background above other factors which the agency should consider. As my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, said in his speech of October 2020, “we want to make sure that far more people from all sorts of different backgrounds are willing to become adoptive parents, and to do that we must end this obsession with finding the perfect ethnic match for children”.

Adoption agencies must still have regard to any of the child's characteristics that the agency considers relevant. This could include a range of issues including health, disability, education, religious persuasion, racial origin, and cultural and linguistic background. This is about creating a children’s social care system that works for all children, giving them the best possible chance to succeed in life.

Latest published analysis shows that in 2014-15, Black and minority ethnic children were being placed for adoption 5 months earlier than in 2012-13. More recent Adoption and Special Guardianship Leadership Board (ASGLB) figures also show that waiting times fell by 35% for Black and minority ethnic children between 2014-15 and 2017-18. Since then, ASGLB data shows that waiting times for all children have increased which is due to a national shortage of adopters.

During the 2020-21 financial year, we gave the Regional Adoption Agency (RAA) Leaders Group £1 million to develop a sector led recruitment campaign. This campaign launched on 16 September 2020 and challenged preconceived conceptions about who can adopt and encouraged more people to come forward.

Part of the campaign had a specific focus on Black and minority ethnic communities through outreach work in 2 pilot areas, London and Birmingham. The RAA Leaders Group are also funding Home for Good to run a triage service to support prospective adopters from these pilot areas. This included a safe space to explore adoption and ask further questions, but also seek extra support during the process. Ensuring that the right adopters come forward for the children we have waiting for forever homes remains a priority for the government.