Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of local authorities' ability to deal with increased levels of demand for therapy above the Adoption Support and Special Guardianship Support Fund fair access limit.

The department continues to monitor and assess the impact of the changes to the adoption and special guardianship support fund (ASGSF) and is engaging with stakeholders.

In the current financial year, the department has invested £50 million in the ASGSF, ensuring that adopted and kinship children may have access to therapeutic services designed to stabilise placements and address complex needs.

The government has launched the Families First Partnership programme, providing an additional £547 million, and bringing total funding to £2.4 billion over the next three years. We are also investing nearly £1.5 billion to strengthen family services and early years education, including £500 million for Best Start Family Hubs between 2026 and 2029.

Local authorities are responsible for determining how best to deploy these resources to meet increased demand for therapeutic support beyond the fair access limit.