Chancellor pledges £30m to help end adoption delays

7 July 2015

The Government has pledged £30m to “tear down the barriers” to finding adoptive parents for children in care in England. The money will be transferred to local authorities to cover the additional costs of finding, assessing and matching a parent and child by the local authority. The funding will be unveiled in Chancellor George Osborne’s Budget announcement on Wednesday 7th July.

It will cover the £27,000 in fees usually incurred by local authorities that search for prospective parents outside their own jurisdiction.

David Cameron said: “I am determined to tear down the barriers to children in care being found loving adoptive parents. “The average time it takes to place a child with a new family has been falling and I am delighted we are able to offer this funding to try to ensure it falls further.”

Paying the fee will ensure that children with particular needs, as well as any other child who has been waiting longer than 18 months for adoption, will have access to the widest pool of potential adopters.

Children’s Minister Edward Timpson provides some background in a letter to Local Authority and Voluntary Adoption Agencies. You can read the letter here

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