§ Mr. BurnsTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what are the procedures to be followed when couples in the United Kingdom wish to bring a baby from Romania for adoption in the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mrs. Virginia BottomleyThere are established procedures whereby prospective adopters, once the Romanian authorities have provisionally agreed to place a child with them, should obtain entry clearance for the child. The application is made to the consulate in Bucharest. This must include information about the child, his state of health, and documents to verify that the child is legally available for adoption, with parental consent where appropriate. The application is transmitted without delay to London where my Department requests that the applicants' local authority undertakes, within a maximum of six weeks, the inquiries necessary to determine that the applicants are suitable adopters for that child. We have asked local authorities to act swiftly in the current Romanian crisis.
These procedures are necessary to protect the children in accordance with the central principle of adoption law that the child's welfare is the first consideration. It would be wrong—and in breach of the United Nations declaration on adoption and fostering—if lower standards were applied to Romanian children who are especially in need of protection from further risk.