Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many families are eligible for the Adoption and Special Guardian Support Fund; and how many of these have accessed the fund since 7 February 2024.

Local authorities, Adoption England and Regional Adoption Agencies promote the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund (ASGSF) to families throughout their adoption journey as a source of support should they need it.

In December 2023, the department changed the name of the Fund from the Adoption Support Fund to the ASGSF, to reflect the eligibility of special guardianship order (SGO) families and encourage increased numbers of applications for therapy where these families might need support.

The department does not hold definitive data on the number of families eligible for the ASGSF at any one time. During the period from 7 February to 31 December 2024, 18,030 individual children have accessed support through the ASGSF.