Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how the £7 million made available in the 2021 Spending Review to improve adoption support will be spent; and what proportion will be allocated to improving the letterbox contact system.

Local authorities have a legal duty to provide a comprehensive adoption service.

This specifically includes assistance, including mediation services, in relation to arrangements for contact between an adoptive child and a natural parent, natural sibling, former guardian or a related person of the adoptive child.

As set out in our recently published ‘Adoption Strategy: achieving excellence everywhere’ we will be working with local authorities and regional adoption agencies to improve support around contact with birth relatives, including letterbox contact. This will include working closely with birth parents and those with lived experiences. More details on how funding from the Spending Review will be used will be confirmed in due course.