HL Deb 20 July 1995 vol 566 cc56-7WA
Lord Braine of Wheatley

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What steps they are taking to assist with a thorough and quick adoption process in the United Kingdom for those wishing to adopt an abandoned baby in China;

Whether there is an authorised adoption centre and service in the United Kingdom specifically for Chinese babies, and if not whether they will take steps to establish such a centre;

What is the average period for arranging the adoption of a child from China and what steps they are taking to reduce the length of the period from initiation to receiving the child; and

What steps they are taking to reduce the home study period for those persons adopting children from China.

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Baroness Cumberlege)

Prospective adopters wishing to adopt children from overseas, including the People's Republic of China, are required to apply to their local authority for preparation and assessment. This is necessarily a thorough process, involving the completion of a home study report. Since no two cases are alike, time taken to complete the process varies in each case. The department's guidance on timescales for completion of reports by local authorities for overseas adoption applications, issued as a letter in June 1991—CI(91)14, copies of which are available in the Library, was that a total maximum period of six months should be the aim and expectation.

There are no plans to reduce the home study period for people adopting from China. Standards which apply in domestic adoption should be no less for children to be adopted from abroad. This principle is underpinned by the 1989 United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and the 1993 Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Adoption which the United Kingdom signed in January 1994 and intends to ratify as soon as Parliamentary time permits.

There is as yet no approved intercountry adoption agency in the United Kingdom set up to deal with overseas adoptions although it is hoped that two or three organisations will come forward and apply for approval in the next year or two.

Adoption of children from China by United Kingdom citizens have been taking place since April 1993; to date more than 30 children have been adopted—one of the highest figures by a country in western Europe. Prospective adopters are usually able to complete the adoption process in China within three months of their application being received in Beijing.