Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the adoption letterbox contact system; and what steps he is taking to improve the experience of communication between adoptive and birth families.

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 that which has started via social media. Further information on this can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/adoption-strategy-achieving-excellence-everywhere.