Adoption Support Fund given short extension, but Parliamentarians call for longer-term guarantee of support for families caring for vulnerable children

The APPG for Adoption and Permanence welcomes the announcement yesterday as part of National Adoption Week that the Government will be extending the Adoption Support Fund until March 2021.

Announcing the investment, Secretary of State for Education Gavin Williamson said “Our adoption support fund which was set up in 2015, has provided a range of therapeutic support for nearly 50,000 children who have been through traumatic times before adoption.” The fund is available to adoptive families and some special guardianship families and prior to this announcement was scheduled to cease in July 2020.

Off the back of a rapid inquiry held in May, the APPG for Adoption and Permanence produced a report which outlined the impact of the fund for children and families and made a series of recommendations regarding the future of the fund.

Responding to yesterday’s announcement, Chair of the APPG Rachael Maskell MP said:

“Although we are pleased that the Government have taken this initial step, it is vital that they enable stability for families for the future by providing a longer-term commitment to the fund. There are a number of vital changes that would help improve the impact of the fund for families but most importantly, the fund must exist. Today’s announcement must be followed by longer-term investment and commitment to these families who care for the most vulnerable children in our nation.”

The APPG report highlighted that 77% of nearly 250 young people who inputted into the inquiry felt that the fund had made a huge difference to their family. In addition, 79% of parents said that the fund is meeting a need that cannot be met elsewhere.

The future of the Adoption Support Fund will be highlighted through a debate in the House of Lords scheduled for November, secured by one of the APPG’s Officers, Lord Russell of Liverpool. Looking ahead to this debate, Lord Russell commented:

“This is an important opportunity to build on the commitment made by the Government today. We want to work with the Government to make the fund as effective as it can be and that will require cooperation and commitment from both the Department for Education and Department of Health. For the sake of these children and their families, we must work together.”

The specific amount of funding which will be added to the fund to extend its activity until March 2021 is expected to be outlined in the coming weeks. This extension partnered an announcement that the Department for Education would be investing £650,000 into an adopter recruitment strategy for children of BAME backgrounds who wait longer to be adopted.

To read the full APPG report, click here.