Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Department for Education
Calum Miller
Main Page: Calum Miller (Liberal Democrat - Bicester and Woodstock)Department Debates - View all Calum Miller's debates with the Department for Education
Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund
Calum Miller Excerpts(3 days ago)
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Janet Daby
I look forward to speaking to the hon. Member during his Adjournment debate—I am sure that he will ask me many more questions, as is absolutely appropriate. I would say that this should not prevent people from coming forward to adopt children, and that children will still get the support they need and so rightly deserve.
Calum Miller (Bicester and Woodstock) (LD)
I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Twickenham on securing this urgent question and this commitment from the Government. I recently received the following email from a constituent:
“Since adopting my children I have received absolutely no support at all. After 15 years of caring for a severely traumatised child, I heard about the post adoption support team… They applied to the fund and my son has just had his first assessment session and we are awaiting the report… He has been failed at every step of his life—please don’t fail him again.”
My constituent will be pleased to hear today’s announcement, but on their behalf I want to ask the Minister two questions. First, will she do everything in her power to ensure that local authorities are signposting adoptive parents to the support of this fund and the eligibility for it? Secondly, taking into account her comment that she has “no plans” to prevent the fund continuing, will she and her Department ensure that the announcement is made no later than September on the funding of the scheme in future financial years, given that the spending review is due before the summer?
Janet Daby
This Government absolutely support this fund and this funding being made available. If the hon. Member would like to share any more information regarding the 15-year-old and the family’s experience of lack of support, I would welcome him to do so.