David Cameron says children in care have been 'let down for too long'

New legislation encouraging the adoption of children in care will be announced in the Queen's Speech on Wednesday

David Cameron said he was 'unashamedly pro-adoption' (Peter Macdiarmid / Getty Images)

David Cameron has announced that the Government will bring in new laws to encourage the adoption of children in care.

Writing in the Sunday Times, the Prime Minister said vulnerable children had been let down by society and promised “zero tolerance” of state failure around social care.

The proposed legislation will encourage the permanent adoption of children by foster carers, even if that means ignoring family connections.

In his article, Mr Cameron wrote: "For too long, whether through misguided notions of what is right or sensitivities about not wanting to cause offence, we have let the most vulnerable in our country down.

"These are not someone else's children; they are all of ours, so every part of society should be stepping up to help care leavers get a shot at building a decent life."

Mr Cameron wrote that he was “unashamedly pro-adoption” and stressed the need for children to be given a stable home.

“We will legislate to tip the balance in favour of permanent adoption where that is the right thing for the child — even when that means over-riding family ties," he said.

"This is a vital move that will mean much greater importance is attached to the long-term stability and better outcomes that it can offer.

“Courts and social workers have begun to favour less stable placements with distant relatives such as great-aunts and uncles, rather than adoption by new families that would produce more permanent solutions and better outcomes."

As a result of that policy, adoption numbers had almost halved over the past two years, Mr Cameron said.

The government will outline its plans in the Queen’s Speech on Wednesday.

In March it was announced that children taken into care would be fast-tracked into permanent adoption away from their natural parents if it was deemed to be in the child’s best interest.

Currently it can take up to 18 months for children to be in care to be adopted – a time scale ministers admit is too long.

The new legislation will also introduce a care-leavers’ covenant, which will mean more personalised help for young people at the end of their time in state care, such as providing a mentor until they are 25.

Reforms will also set “new, demanding standards” for all child and family social workers to meet by 2020, with a new regulator introduced to oversee the care system.

According to government statistics, a third of people who have been in care become homeless in the two years immediately after they leave.

Almost half of children and young people in care are said to have a diagnosable mental health disorder compared with around one in 10 children who are not.

Emma Smale, co-chair for the Alliance for Children in Care, said: “Investment in monitoring [care] outcomes is vital and we want to see the introduction of the measurement of children’s emotional wellbeing.

"This will help ensure that the system recognises the long lasting impact of traumatic experiences and help towards giving children in care the future they deserve.”