Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the pilot allowing approved adopters to search the Adoption Register is now working.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Birmingham, Selly Oak, on 5 January 2015 (PQ 219289). The pilot to allow approved adopters to search the Adoption Register has been delayed to ensure it is working as effectively as possible. Both the Department and the British Association of Adoption and Fostering (BAAF) are committed to the security of children’s and families’ data. This is a new service and it is crucial that we are satisfied that the system is completely secure before launching the pilot. BAAF have contacted all the agencies involved in the pilot to inform them of the current situation.