§ Mr. LewisTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what procedures exist to enable adults, adopted early in life, to make contact with siblings.
§ Mrs. Virginia BottomleyThe Adoption Act 1976 gives adopted adults the right, after counselling where required, 507W to the information which will enable them to obtain a certified copy of their original record of birth. Some adopted people may wish to use this information as a starting point in an effort to trace the whereabouts of their natural relatives and sometimes to contact or meet them. The Registrar-General is usually prepared to note on a person's adoption record that there is a natural relative, including a sibling, who would welcome contact; and, if the adopted person applies for information about his birth record, to tell him about his relative's wishes. The Children Act 1989 provides for an adoption contact register to formalise these arrangements; we plan to implement the Act next year.