Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to encourage more people from BAME backgrounds to consider adopting children; and what steps he is taking to reduce delays for prospective adopters from BAME backgrounds at the approval and matching stages of the adoption process.

Ensuring the right adopters come forward for the children we have waiting for forever homes remains a priority for the government. That is why this year, we gave the Regional Adoption Agency (RAA) Leaders’ Group £1 million to develop a sector led recruitment campaign. This campaign, launched on 16 September, is challenging preconceived conceptions about who can adopt and encouraging more people to come forward.

The campaign will specifically focus on black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) communities through outreach work in 2 pilot areas, London and Birmingham. There is a focus on BAME communities during the recruitment campaign as children from BAME backgrounds typically wait longer to be placed with a forever family. The RAA Leaders’ Group are also funding Home for Good to run a triage service to support prospective adopters from these pilot areas. This will include a safe space to explore adoption and ask further questions, but also seek extra support during the process.

We are working closely with the sector to ensure the prospective adopter journey is consistent for everyone across all agencies.