Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether the impact of the delayed announcement of the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund for 2025-26 resulted in (1) fewer applications being received, (2) lower-quality applications being received, (3) lower value of awards made, (4) lower average spend per recipient, and (5) unmet demand for therapeutic support.

Applications approved in 2025/26 remained broadly consistent with the previous year, with 20,000 approvals compared to 20,085 in 2024/25. No applications were refused because the overall fund budget had been exhausted. It continues to monitor application levels, spending trends and outcomes for children and families as part of the routine management of the fund.