VE Day: Council duties under the Armed Forces Covenant
As we mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day, Geoff Wild, Legal & Governance Consultant, looks at the duties of councils under the Armed Forces Covenant.
Charity criticises 40% adoption funding cut
16/04/2025 Adoption experts have criticized the Government’s decision to cut funding for therapy for adopted children in England. |
Councils urged to improve adoption processes
07/11/2024 Local authorities in England need to learn from past failures to get support for adoptive families right, the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman says. |
Social work development programme 'pulled' by Department for Education
16/04/2024 A Government decision to end a training and development programme for social work managers has been branded a ‘kick in the teeth’ for the sector. |
Adoption saved councils £3.6bn, study shows
16/12/2022 At least £3.6bn in value was generated for councils across England, Wales and Scotland in 2021 when over 3,300 children were adopted, research reveals. |
Charity warns of lack of accountability in adoption funding
03/03/2022 A charity has urged the Government to improve the use of funds allocated to support adopted children in England’s schools. |
New £160m fund to support adoptive families
03/03/2022 A new £160m fund has been announced by the Government to help children in care find adopted families more quickly. |
Report shows Adoption Activity Days have saved £250m in care costs over past decade
22/10/2021 A charity has called for all children in care to have the opportunity to attend Adoption Activity Days (AADs), often seen as the ‘last resort’ for those who are harder to place. |
Charity calls for every adopted child to receive life-long support
18/10/2021 The Government has been urged to make a ten-year commitment to the Adoption Support Fund to provide long-term support for adoptive families. |
Report calls for 'significant shift' in adoption system
13/09/2021 Adoptive families need lifelong help to support some of England's most vulnerable children, MPs and Peers have said today. |
Government to invest £45m to improve adoption services
26/07/2021 A new national strategy to end the ‘postcode lottery’ in adoption services has been launched by the Government. |
Council pledges to improve its adoption recruitment process
08/07/2021 City of Wolverhampton Council has agreed to ensure its adoption recruitment procedure to ensure it meets statutory guidelines following an investigation by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman. |
Adopted children facing ‘mental health emergency’
29/06/2021 Adopted children are facing a mental health emergency as they are being ‘failed’ by a system that is not set up to meet their needs, a charity has said today. |
Councils caring for 16,000 more children in past decade
11/12/2020 Councils are looking after nearly 16,000 more children compared to ten years ago, new figures have revealed. |
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Education secretary accuses councils of adoption ‘snobbery'
14/10/2020 Local government leaders have defended their record on adoption as the education secretary Gavin Williamson says that an ‘overly bureaucratic’ adoption system has prevented children finding homes. |
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Charity calls for improvements to adoption process to encourage black adopters
12/10/2020 An adoption charity has called for improvements to the adoption assessment process in order to encourage more members of the black community to become adoptive parents. |
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Two-thirds of adoptive families without a support plan, report finds
29/09/2020 Thousands of vulnerable adopted children are failing to get the support they need, a charity has warned today. |
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Adoptive families given access to £8m support fund
14/04/2020 Local authorities will be able to provide adoptive families with emergency support following the announcement of a £8m fund. |
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New advice urges councils to ‘not shy away’ from adoption
16/01/2020 The Government has urged local authorities to prioritise adoption and ensure adoptive parents are not wrongly turned away. |
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Agency calls for more families to consider adoption
03/01/2020 A regional adoption agency has urged more people to consider adoption as a route to building or extending their family. |
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Court rules adoption service ‘discriminated against’ couple
09/12/2019 A court has awarded a couple £120,000 in damages after their local adoption service turned them away because of their Indian heritage. |
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How local authorities can boost adoption matches
11/10/2019 Sally Beaumont explains how local authorities can boost their adoption matches with Adoption Activity Days. |
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Kinship carers blast lack of support from children's services
24/09/2019 Local authorities should have a legal responsibility to support people looking after the children of family and friends, campaigners have argued. |
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Ambitious for adoption
03/07/2019 Dr Carol Homden argues the closure of the Adoption Register for England means all parts of the system must work together to ensure the best possible service to children. |
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Adoptive families ‘fighting losing battle’ for support
02/07/2019 Adopted children are twice as likely not to be in employment, education or training as their peers, according to the first ever UK-wide assessment of adoption. |
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Tackling people's perception of adoption
04/06/2019 As part of Big Adoption Day (5 June), Jake from the Adoptables programme, run by the charity Coram, shares his story of being adopted and his experiences at school. |
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£12m boost for adoptive families
24/12/2018 The Government yesterday announced a £12m funding boost to support adoptive families. |
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Number of looked after children rises to over 75,000
16/11/2018 The number of children looked after by local authorities has increased since last year, prompting council chiefs to warn of the ‘huge demand’ this is placing on children’s services. |
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Care and adoption can mean 'heartbreaking' separation from siblings, say lawyers
01/11/2018 Children going into care or being adopted often risk losing touch with their brothers and sisters, according to new research – even though these can be their most important relationships. |
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The adoption system under pressure
12/10/2018 Kevin Yong uncovers some worrying trends in the latest statistics on adoption in England. |
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Children face adoption ‘postcode lottery’
12/09/2018 Children going into care face a postcode lottery for the opportunity to stay with relatives, a family law firm has found. |
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Child protection practices differ ‘significantly’ between councils, analysis reveals
12/06/2018 A new analysis of adoption data has revealed a ‘significant disparity’ in child protection practices across the country. |
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Whitehall announces £3.4m for five new adoption agencies
23/03/2018 The Government has announced it will be paying £3.4m to five new agencies in an attempt to speed up the adoption process. |
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Adopted families ‘in crisis’, survey reveals
26/09/2017 More than a quarter of adopted families are ‘in crisis’, survey reveals as charity finds many children show signs of ‘aggressive behaviour’. |
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Council to change child's foster carer
31/08/2017 Tower Hamlets LBC has decided to change the foster carer of the child at the centre of a national media row. |
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Five councils to combine adoption services
18/08/2017 Five local authorities have announced they are combining their adoption services in order to support a regional approach to adoption. |
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Sikh couple wrong ‘cultural heritage’ to adopt white child, agency says
27/06/2017 A Sikh couple have begun legal action against an adoption agency after allegedly being told they were the wrong ‘cultural heritage’ to adopt a white child. |
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Charity to take over Peterborough’s fostering and adoption services
27/09/2016 Peterborough Council has agreed to transfer all its fostering and adoption services to a charitable organisation. |
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Sunderland Council to transfer children's services to new company
23/06/2016 Sunderland has decided to set up a new organisation to deliver its children's services. |
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Queen's Speech 2016: Councils face fresh demands under ‘care covenant’
18/05/2016 Proposals to speed up child adoption and raise council support for young people were outlined in the Queen’s Speech today. |
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Cameron outlines reforms for social workers
16/05/2016 David Cameron has pledged to change the way local authorities help children in care with a new regulator and further reforms. |
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Young care leavers being ‘cut adrift’ warn MPs
30/10/2015 Vulnerable young people leaving local authority care are not receiving the help and support they need, a new report from the Public Accounts Committee has warned. |
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Government unveils plans for 14 regional adoption agencies
20/10/2015 The Government has announced details of 14 regional agencies that will bring councils and voluntary groups together to help reform the adoption system. |
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Charity voices concern over drop in adoption rates
01/10/2015 There has been a fall in both the number of children granted an adoption placement order and the number of children placed for adoption this year, according to official statistics. |
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Children in care should stay until 25 says commissioner
08/07/2015 Young people should be allowed to stay in care until they are 25 years old as thousands are leaving before they are ready, a new survey has revealed. |
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Councils poised to receive £30m to cover adoption costs
06/07/2015 Councils are to receive £30m to cover the costs of finding adoptive parents outside local authority boundaries. |
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Councils get £4.5m to kick start regional adoption agencies
22/06/2015 The first regional adoption agencies - groups of councils matching children with parents - will be up and running months earlier than planned after a £4.5m cash injection. |
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New measures will force councils to merge adoption functions
26/05/2015 Councils could be forced to merge their adoption services if they fail to work together of their own accord. |
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Councils triple number of special guardianship orders
22/05/2015 An investigation has revealed that that the number of councils placing babies under a special guardianship order has tripled in the past two years. |
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Norfolk given £1m to develop child care project
17/02/2015 Over £1m of government funds has been awarded to a Norfolk County Council project designed to prevent 180 children coming into care every year. |
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Dog adoption blacklist barking up the wrong tree, charity warns
02/02/2015 An adoption charity has launched a best practice guide to prevent foster children being denied the physical and emotional benefits of having a pet. |
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Charity calls for research on cost of siblings separated in care
23/01/2015 Local authorities have been urged to provide data on the number of siblings separated in care by a charity, after figures show it costs the UK economy £800m a year. |
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National roll out for Adoption Support Fund
17/11/2014 A scheme to support therapy for adoptive families is to be rolled out next year following a successful pilot with 10 local authorities. |
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Number of children being adopted reaches record levels
01/10/2014 The number of children being adopted increased by 26% over the past year, according to official figures. |
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PM announces ‘family test’ for all domestic policy
18/08/2014 Future Government policy will be examined for its impact on families, as councils are put in line for more funding to support local communities. |
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Adopted children share £20m for extra school support
28/07/2014 Children adopted from care are to receive £1,900 each to pay for extra support at school. |
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Minister insists Government 'on the right track' with adoption
19/05/2014 The Government is ‘on the right track’ in delivering better adoption support, children’s minister Edward Timpson has insisted. |
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Judge delays decision on blocking sibling contact
17/04/2014 A judge has delayed a decision on whether to block direct contact between two groups of siblings so that the children’s views can be represented. |
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Leadership board to tackle shortage of adopters
15/04/2014 Councils will be helped to stay on track in meeting targets with the launch of the adoption leadership board tomorrow. |
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Councils' adoption need focus of TV series
03/04/2014 Councils' increased need to find people wanting to adopt children will be highlighted in a TV series starting tonight. |
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Adoption campaign begins in Birmingham
20/01/2014 Birmingham City Council has launched a campaign to locate local adopters and foster carers, deploying prime-time television advertising and a new website. |
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Council launches campaign to increase Muslim adoptive parents
07/01/2014 Tower Hamlets Council has launched a new campaign to encourage more Muslim couples to adopt, warning the number coming forward is failing to match the number of Muslim children in need of a new home. |
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Leaders warn of fall in adoption funding
24/12/2013 Council leaders have questioned ‘new’ government funding for adoption services, warning that town halls could struggle with reduced financial support. |
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Essex defends adoption decision on Caesarean child
03/12/2013 Essex CC has defended its decision to put the baby of a woman forced to have a Caesarean up for adoption. |
