Oral Answers to Questions

Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton Excerpts

Monday 16th April 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hayes]

One of the first things I did when I became a Minister was to insist that apprentices should be employed, in order to end programme-led apprenticeships. They were the hallmark of the previous Government’s approach, as was recently highlighted in the programme referred to a few moments ago.

The letter that I am holding was sent to me, and it says:

“We warmly welcome the Government’s focus on Apprenticeships and its efforts to guarantee”

apprenticeship “quality”. It is signed by some of Britain’s leading companies and by the TUC. So business, unions and the Government are coming together—only the Labour party is standing apart.

[Mark Lancaster (Milton Keynes North) (Con)]

17. What steps he is taking to speed up the adoption system.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education (Tim Loughton)]

As I said earlier, the Government have published “An Action Plan for Adoption”, which aims to reduce delays in adoption by legislating to prevent local authorities from spending too much time seeking a perfect adoptive match; accelerating the assessment process for prospective adopters; and making it easier for children to be fostered by their likely eventual adopters in certain circumstances. We will also shortly introduce an adoption scorecard to focus attention on the issue of timeliness; this is linked to a tougher intervention regime.

[Mark Lancaster]

I commend the Government on the action they have taken to speed up the adoption process, but concerns remain about the level of support provided to families after that process. Will the Minister therefore expand on the action the Government will be taking to support families once they have actually adopted?

[Tim Loughton]

My hon. Friend raises a very important point, which was covered slightly in my earlier answer. I am concerned about getting good pre-adoption support, peri-adoption support and post-adoption support, because the worst thing that can happen is a breakdown in adoption. There is scant evidence about breakdown in adoptions, but some of the highest-performing adoption agencies in the country, be they local authority or independent, are those that invest in adoption support, which means that adoptions do not break down. That results in not only a financial saving for that authority, but, more importantly, a social gain for the child, who gets a safe, stable and loving home—permanently.