Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund

(asked on 21st July 2026) - View Source

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether therapy providers amended treatment plans or reduced the value of funding applications following the introduction of the £3000 Fair Access Limit for the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund.


Answered by
Baroness Smith of Malvern Portrait
Baroness Smith of Malvern
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
This question was answered on 4th August 2026

Recipient Average Costs per Financial Years

Financial Year

Average Recipient Request (1)

Average Recipient Award (2)

2022-23

£2,908.00

£2,908.00

2023-24

£3,044.00

£3,044.00

2024-25

£3,090.00

£3,090.00

2025-26

£2,537.00

£2,537.00

Application requests are made within the Fair Access Limit – we do not approve an amount different to the requested amount.

Local Authorities and Regional Adoption Agencies are responsible for submitting applications. The financial value of all applications submitted to the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund were below the £3,000 fair access limit. The department regularly reviews the costs per hour of therapy, and the number of hours of therapy per application. Local authorities and regional adoption agencies can top-up funding using their own resources.

The department is currently considering responses to its consultation on the future of Adoption Support, including the long-term effects of any changes made to adoption support.

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