Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has had recent discussions with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government on the potential impact of changes to the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund on the ability of local authorities to (a) carry out their statutory duty to maintain appropriate service for adoption support under the Adoption and Children Act 2002 and (b) assess adoption support needs when requested under Adoption Support Services Regulations 2005.

My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education has regular discussions with Cabinet colleagues over a range of important matters.

Local authorities exercise their statutory duty to children previously in care and adopted children through regional adoption agencies (RAAs).

The department has recently announced funding of £8.8 million for Adoption England to improve adoption services, including adoption support. This includes supporting RAAs to provide an early support core offer for all families in the first 12 to 18 months after an adoption placement, as well as providing families with a new adoption support plan to give them information and guidance, including how they can access help.

Adoption England will be supporting RAAs to develop and make sustainable Centres of Excellence with local health partners, so families receive holistic assessment and packages of support.

They will also be supporting RAAs to put in place services that can respond quickly and more effectively to adoptive families in crisis. Currently, RAAs and local authorities can back-date applications to cover costs of therapies which begin in this financial year, even before the application is approved. This allows continuation of support for the most vulnerable families.

Adoptive families can also receive help from local authority Family Help services. The government is doubling investment in these services to over £500 million in the 2025/26 financial year.