Romanian Adoptions (Hansard, 15 July 1992)

§ Mr. Jonathan Evans
To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many prospective adoptive parents seeking to adopt a child from Romania through her Department are now ineligible as a result of the agreement with the Romanian Committee for Adoptions signed on 19 March.

§ Mr. Yeo
A total of 65 families in the United Kingdom who had applications with their respective Government Departments on 19 March were advised, normally via their respective local authority social services departments, that they were ineligible to adopt under the terms of the agreement.

§ Mr. Jonathan Evans
To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many prospective adoptive parents seeking to adopt a child from Romania are eligible for treatment as special cases as a result of securing parental permission to adoption prior to 16 July 1991;
(2) what action her Department is taking to notify prospective adoptive parents seeking to adopt a child from Romania of the agreement of the Romanian Committee for Adoptions to process applications where parental permission was obtained prior to 16 July 1991.

§ Mr. Yeo
The Romanian Committee for Adoptions has recently agreed to consider adoption applications from United Kingdom citizens who are able to satisfy the committee that the birth mother had given formal consent to the adoption of her child to the prospective adopters before 17 July 1991. The Department is continuing to trace those to whom the concession may apply, via local authority social services departments.

§ Mr. Jonathan Evans
To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many children from Romania have been adopted by parents resident in the United Kingdom since 1988; and how many of those children have since been received into local authority care.

§ Mr. Yeo
From the information provided by the Home Office I understand that approximately 340 children have been given leave to enter the United Kingdom from Romania for the purposes of adoption since 1988. Adoption orders are not made until a child has been resident in the United Kingdom for at least 12 months. We are aware of four Romanian children who have been received into local authority care.