Adoption
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of (a) the adequacy of the number of approvals for people to become adoptive parents and (b) whether further steps should be taken to encourage more potential adopters to come forward.
Answered by Department for Education
The government’s aim is that all children for whom adoption is considered to be in their best interests should be placed with a family as soon as possible.
While the number of adopter approvals (2,240) marginally increased in 2025/26 compared to the previous year, speeding up matches between approved adopters and children waiting is a key priority for this government and Adoption England.
The department has provided funding of £9.5 million to Adoption England for 2026/27 to support the delivery of high-quality adoption services across the country. This includes plans to improve recruitment of sufficient adopters, including through national adopter recruitment campaigns such as: https://www.youcanadopt.co.uk/.
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