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Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund

Asked by Rachael MaskellLabour (Co-op)Department for EducationTabled Answered 2 June 2025UIN 53560

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much of the budget allocated to the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund was spent on therapy in each financial year; and how much overspend there was in each financial year.

Answered by Janet Daby

The table below provides the data requested:

Financial Year

Therapeutic Services Spend

Over spend

2016/17

£26,162,360.25

£3,797,187.45

2017/18

£27,643,580.09

£194,021.49

2018/19

£40,188,413.25

£19,668,135.73

2019/20

£41,575,278.06

£6,755,560.46

2020/21

£40,942,685.01

-£1,805,992.59

2021/22

£50,217,044.09

£6,726,186.49

2022/23

£27,659,930.00

-£16,481,530.49

2023/24

£45,591,102.00

£639,996.35

2024/25

£56,676,643.00

£11,355,181.91

Note: A negative number represents an underspend.

The large underspend in the 2022/23 financial year was due to a process change whereby the fund moved from payments on approval in advance to payments made in arrears on invoice.

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