Children taken into care will to be fast-tracked into permanent adoption away from their natural parents under Government plans to change the way vulnerable young people are looked after by the state.
In a wide-ranging package of reforms ministers intend to change the law to make it clear that courts and social workers must always pursue adoption when it is in a child’s best interest.
The move is expected to result in many more children being permanently adopted rather than being placed in foster homes in the hope that they could in future be re-united with their natural parents.
However the plan faces strong opposition from social workers who claim the Government is pushing adoption to save money and have warned councils will feel compelled to meet centrally set targets, rather than acting in the best interests of children.
Currently it can take up to 18 months for children in care to be adopted a time scale that ministers want to half.
As part of the proposals the Government has also pledged to provide more support for adopted children and the parents who look after them.
UK news in pictures
UK news in pictures
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1/63 23 July 2017
England team players pose after winning the ICC Women's World Cup cricket final between England and India at Lord's cricket ground in London
Adrian Dennis/AFP
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2/63 23 July 2017
Rajeshwari Gayakwad of India attempts to run out Jenny Gunn of England during the ICC Women's World Cup 2017 Final between England and India at Lord's Cricket Ground in London
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3/63 22 July 2017
Chris Froome, wearing the overall leader's yellow jersey, celebrates on the podium after the twentieth stage of the Tour de France cycling race, an individual time trial over 22.5 kilometers (14 miles) with start and finish in Marseille, France.
AP
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4/63 22 July 2017
Competitors take part in the swim stage during the AJ Bell London Triathlon 2017 at Royal Victoria Docks in London, England. The 21st annual AJ Bell Triathlon sees 13000 competitors take part in the world's largest triathlon.
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5/63 21 July 2017
Environment Secretary Michael Gove looks at screens in the information pod in the forest zone at the WWF Living Planet Centre in Woking, after he told an audience of environmental and countryside organisations that Brexit gives scope for Britain to be a global leader in green policy
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6/63 21 July 2017
Screen grabbed image taken from video issued by NATS showing air traffic over the UK yesterday at 12:15pm, with red representing departures, yellow arrivals, purple domestic and blue overflights. Air traffic controllers are dealing with the busiest day in the UK's aviation history. A total of 8,800 planes are to be handled by controllers across the country over 24 hours, at the start of a summer season which is due to see a record 770,000 flights in UK airspace - 40,000 more than last year
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7/63 20 July 2017
Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon shows off his cufflinks after cutting steel on the first Type 26 frigate at BAE System's Govan Shipyard near Glasgow.
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8/63 20 July 2017
Britain's Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson looks at a bipedal humanoid robot Wabian2 at Research Institute for Science and Engineering at Waseda University's Kikuicho Campus in Tokyo
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9/63 19 July 2017
A damaged road in Coverack, Cornwall, after intense rain caused flash flooding in the coastal village.
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10/63 19 July 2017
Prince George holds hands with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge as they leave Warsaw
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11/63 18 July 2017
Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon during her visit to the site of Aberdeen Harbour's expansion into Nigg Bay
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12/63 18 July 2017
Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson arrives at Downing Street for the weekly cabinet meeting
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13/63 17 July 2017
Daniel Goodfellow and Tom Daley of Great Britain compete during the Men's Diving 10M Synchro Platform, preliminary round on day four of the Budapest 2017 FINA World Championships on July 17, 2017 in Budapest, Hungary
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14/63 17 July 2017
Britain's Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson speaks to the press upon his arrival at the European Council for the Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels
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15/63 16 July 2017
Switzerland's Roger Federer holds aloft the winner's trophy after beating Croatia's Marin Cilic in their men's singles final match, during the presentation on the last day of the 2017 Wimbledon Championships at The All England Lawn Tennis Club in Wimbledon, southwest London. Roger Federer won 6-3, 6-1, 6-4.
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16/63 15 July 2017
Garbine Muguruza of Spain celebrates victory with the trophy after the Ladies Singles final against Venus Williams of The United States on day twelve of the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club at Wimbledon.
Getty
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17/63 14 July 2017
The hearse departs St Joseph's Church after the funeral service for six year old Sunderland FC fan, Bradley Lowery on in Hartlepool, England. Bradley was diagnosed with neuroblastoma aged only 18 months. Hundreds of people lined the streets to pay their respects to the Sunderland football supporter who lost his battle with cancer last Friday.
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18/63 13 July 2017
The EU chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier, right, receives an Arsenal football top from Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn prior to a meeting at EU headquarters in Brussels
Olivier Hoslet/AP
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19/63 13 July 2017
A blue whale skeleton forms the main exhibit at the Natural History Museum in London. The 126-year-old skeleton, named 'Hope', replaces 'Dippy' the Diplodocus dinosaur as the museum's main exhibit
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20/63 13 July 2017
Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh are welcomed to New Scotland Yard by Metropolitan Police commissioner Cressida Dick and Metropolitan Police Acting Commissioner, Craig Mackey
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21/63 12 July 2017
Carlos Sainz of Spain and Scuderia Toro Rosso driving the Scuderia Toro Rosso STR8 during F1 Live London at Trafalgar Square in London
Mark Thompson/Getty Images
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22/63 12 July 2017
Orange Order members march past Ardoyne shops on the Crumlin Road in Belfast as part of the 'Twelfth of July' celebrations. The controversial flashpoint has seen many outbreaks of serious public disorder in the past due to contentious parades
Niall Carson/PA
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23/63 11 July 2017
Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May gets up from her seat to deliver a speech on modern working practices at the RSA (Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce) in London
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24/63 11 July 2017
Cunard cruise liner Queen Elizabeth makes her way into the mouth of the River Mersey on her way to Liverpool past Antony Gormley's art installation 'Another Place' at Crosby, north west England
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25/63 11 July 2017
Two fisherman gather fishing pots from the North sea near Whitley Bay with storm clouds overhead as rain is expected across many parts of the UK.
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26/63 10 July 2017
Supporters of Charlie Gard hold up placards outside the High Court in central London
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27/63 10 July 2017
Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May leaves after a visit to Borough Market with Australian Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull (not pictured) in central London
Niklas Hallen/AFP/Getty
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28/63 10 July 2017
A Loyalist climbs the Conway street bonfire built in preparation for the 11th night bonfire on July 10, 2017 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Tradition holds that the bonfires commemorate the lighting of fires on the hills to help Williamite ships navigate through Belfast Lough at night when Protestant King William III and his forces landed at Carrickfergus to fight the Catholic Jacobites, supporters of the exiled Catholic King James II. The bonfires also mark the beginning of the annual 12th of July Orange parades.
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29/63 10 July 2017
A firefighter walks towards the scene of a fire at Camden Market in north London
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30/63 9 July 2017
Buttermere in the Lake District in Cumbria, as the Lake District has been designated as a World Heritage Site, Unesco has said
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31/63 8 July 2017
Jeremy Corbyn leader of the Labour Party stands in the balcony of the County Hotel as colliery bands pass below during the 133rd Durham Miners Gala
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32/63 7 July 2017
Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May and her husband Philip John May arrive for a concert at the Elbphilharmonie concert hall during the G20 Summit in Hamburg, Germany
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33/63 7 July 2017
Spectators react on Henman Hill (Murray Mount) as Britain's Andy Murray wins against Italy's Fabio Fognini on the big screen at The All England Lawn Tennis Club in Wimbledon, southwest London
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34/63 6 July 2017
Britain's Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union (Brexit Minister) David Davis (R) meets Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney for talks at no 11, Downing Street
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35/63 6 July 2017
Revellers brave the heat at Wimbledon
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36/63 5 July 2017
Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaking after being awarded an honorary degree at the University of Edinburgh in Edinburgh
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37/63 5 July 2017
Spectators are led in on day three of the Wimbledon Championships at The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club
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38/63 4 July 2017
Queen Elizabeth II talks with Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon during an audience at the Palace of Holyroodhouse
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39/63 4 July 2017
Conservative MP Craig Mackinlay, with his wife Kati Mackinlay, leave Westminster Magistrates' Court in London where he faced charges over his 2015 general election expenses
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40/63 3 July 2017
Security staff with dogs before the start of play at Wimbledon
Reuters
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41/63 2 July 2017
Competitors take part in the first ever Ironman triathlon to be held in Scotland. Almost 2000 competitors took part in the grueling swim, cycle and road race which ended in Holyrood park. The swimming section was held at Preston Links in Prestonpans.
PA
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42/63 1 July 2017
People hold placards reading 'Wot A DisMay' and 'Not One Day More' as they take part in an anti-austerity demonstration outside Parliament in London, Britain. Tens of thousands of people took part in a demonstration against British Government and called to end austerity, further cuts and privatisation.
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43/63 30 June 2017
A screen displaying an image of Martyn Hett outside Stockport Town Hall as mourners arrive for his funeral on June 30, 2017 in Stockport, England. Twenty-nine year old Martyn Hett was one of 22 people who died in the suicide bombing at Manchester Arena after attending an Ariana Grande concert
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44/63 29 June 2017
Campaigners from Avaaz dressed as British Prime Minister Theresa May and Australian media Mogul Rupert Murdoch pose during a photocall outside the Houses of Parliament on Campaigners from Avaaz dressed as British Prime Minister Theresa May and Australian media Mogul Rupert Murdoch pose during a photocall outside the Houses of Parliament on June 29, 2017 in London, England. Culture Secretary Karen Bradley announced that the Competitions and Markets Authority is to conduct a further six-month investigation into Murdoch’s proposed £11.7bn takeover of Sky.
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45/63 27 June 2017
Workers using safety harnesses abseil off Bray Tower on the Chacots Estate in North London. The abseilers were taking measurements and taking notes as they scaled the building. The high-rise Tower blocks in Camden are still in the process of evacuation with some tenants refusing to leave after the cladding on the buildings was discovered to be similar to that found on the fire stricken Grenfell Tower
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46/63 27 June 2017
Workmen start to remove cladding on Hornchurch Court, Hulme, Manchester as as Prime Minister Theresa May has said there must be a "major national investigation" into the use of potentially flammable cladding on high-rise towers across the country over a period of decades in the wake of the Grenfell Tower fire
PA
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47/63 26 June 2017
A festival-goer sleeps outside their tent at the end of the Glastonbury Festival of Music and Performing Arts on Worthy Farm near the village of Pilton in Somerset, South West England
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48/63 26 June 2017
Residents leave their home on the Taplow Block on the Chalcots Estate on June 26, 2017 in London, England. Residents of the Chalcots Estate have been urged to leave their homes due to fire safety fears in the wake of the Grenfell Tower tragedy. Four of the five Chalcots Estate towers in Camden, North London, are being evacuated after they were found to have similar cladding to that on Grenfell, attributed to contributing to the rapid spread of the blaze last week that killed at least 79 people
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49/63 25 June 2017
Police officers on Romford Road in Forest Gate, east London, as people protest over the death of Edir Frederico Da Costa, who died on June 21 six days after he was stopped in a car by Metropolitan Police officers in Woodcocks, Beckton, in Newham, east London
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50/63 24 June 2017
Britain's opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn addresses revellers from the Pyramid Stage at Worthy Farm in Somerset during the Glastonbury Festival
REUTERS
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51/63 23 June 2017
British Prime Minister Theresa May addresses a news conference at the EU summit in Brussels, Belgium, June 23, 2017
Reuters
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52/63 22 June 2017
Cosplay fans (L-R) George Massingham, Abbey Forbes and Karolina Goralik travel by tube dressed in Harry Potter themed costumes, after a visit to one the literary franchise's movie filming locations at Leadenhall Market in London, Britain
Reuters
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53/63 22 June 2017
Racegoers cheer on their horse on Ladies Day at the Royal Ascot horse racing meet, in Ascot, west of London
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54/63 21 June 2017
A reveller walks among the tipi tents at the Glastonbury Festival of Music and Performing Arts on Worthy Farm near the village of Pilton in Somerset, South West England
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55/63 20 June 2017
A police officer lays some flowers passed over by a member of the public, close to Finsbury Park Mosque in north London, after one man died and eight people were taken to hospital and a person arrested after a rental van struck pedestrian
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The Borough Market bell is seen in Borough Market in central London following its re-opening after the June 3 terror attack
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Two women embrace in Borough Market, which officially re-opens today following the recent attack, in central London
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Mayor of London Sadiq Khan attends the re-opening of Borough market in central London following the June 3 terror attack
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People walk through Borough Market in central London following its re-opening after the June 3 terror attack
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News Corp CEO Rupert Murdoch, with one of his daughters, visit Borough Market, which officially re-opened today following the recent attack
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A woman reacts in front of a wall of messages in Borough Market, which officially re-opened today following the recent attack, in central London
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62/63
Vivenne Westwood walks the runway at the Vivenne Westwood show during the London Fashion Week Men's June 2017 collections
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63/63 11 June 2017
England players celebrate after defeating Venezuela 1-0 to win the final of the FIFA U-20 World Cup Korea 2017 at Suwon World Cup Stadium in Suwon, South Korea
AP
All adopted children will be entitled to counselling services until the age of 21 and will be given a designated teacher at school to look after their interests.
In order to maximise the number of children being successfully adopted councils will be made to join regional adoption agencies while the length of time it takes for adoptions to go through will be monitored.
Announcing the changes the Education Secretary, Nicky Morgan, described the new strategy as a “watershed moment”.
“For the first time ever, we are explicitly setting out how we will transform the lives of our most vulnerable children by making sure they get the opportunities they deserve,”
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“We cannot stand by while children spend months in care waiting for their new family, when loving parents are available. We cannot preside over a situation where adopted children are less likely to do well at school than their classmates. “And we mustn’t fail to take action against stifling red tape that stops councils from matching children with the families that are right for them.”
But a recent survey of over 400 social workers for the magazine Community Care found widespread concern about the Government’s plan.
Just 4 per cent of respondents said they agreed with the government’s approach, while 69 per cent said they did not agree while the rest were undecided.
One social worker, responding to the survey, said: “[Ministers] seem to want to blame local authorities, when the courts introduce the huge delays with the insistence on endless assessments, ignoring the assessments of social workers.”
Another said that targets would “distort and undermine” the processes they are meant to improve,” while another questioned the research behind the targets: “Where is the evidence that shortening the time frame for adoption assessments to 6 months will encourage more people to adopt? It could well mean inadequate rushed assessments.”
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