Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department plans to review the eligibility criteria for the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund to ensure that adoptive families whose children were not previously looked after by a local authority can access therapeutic support, in the context of the complex (a) emotional and (b) psychological needs those children may have.

The Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund (ASGSF) is targeted at children who were previously looked after by a local authority, as the local authority maintain a statutory responsibility to these children. Local authorities may still provide support for other children where appropriate, including any adopted children who were not previously looked after, using alternative funding streams. Eligibility and budget considerations for the ASGSF are assessed as part of the broader spending review discussions.