The start of National Adoption week has highlighted the variable performance of local authorities in placing children with adoptive parents.  

Statistics published by the Department for Education show that the London Borough of Hounslow experienced considerable delays in placing children in a home once an adoption decision had been taken. Over a third of children (34%) are still being looked after more than a year after the decision has been made compared to the national average of 26% and 16% of children in Ealing.

Mary said:

“The figures released today certainly raise concerns about the speed with which local authorities deal with adoption cases. Whilst the London Borough of Hounslow performs comparatively well on the number of children adopted, there is still much more to be done in speeding up the process once an adoption decision has been reached.

“I would encourage our local authority to draw on the experiences and practices of neighbouring boroughs where children are placed more quickly with adoptive parents once a decision has been reached. 

“I hope that this information acts as challenge to the local authority to do better for children in their care ”.