Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the report entitled, Investing in families, published by the APPG for Adoption and Permanence, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of enabling Voluntary Adoption Agencies to apply directly to the Adoption Support Fund.

My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education announced on 15 October 2019 that the Adoption Support Fund (ASF) would continue until 2021, this announcement can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-government-support-for-adoptive-families. Funding beyond 2021 will be subject to the full Spending Review, planned in 2020. The recommendations from the All-Party Parliamentary Group report, including enabling voluntary adoption agencies to apply directly to the ASF, will be considered as part of this process.