Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking with (a) regional adoption agencies and (b) local authorities to reduce the time taken for initial assessments for the Adoption Support Fund post adoption order.

Adoption England are working with regional adoption agencies to develop national standards for adoption support. This will help ensure that wherever families live, they can expect the same level of high-quality support. This includes the development of a framework for an early support core offer entitled ‘Becoming a family’, for the first twelve to eighteen months of placement, and an adoption support plan to guide assessments of a family’s support needs.

The department is working with regional adoption agencies and voluntary agencies to promote good practice to help ensure that applications to the adoption and special guardianship fund are assessed promptly so that families can access the support they need.