§ Mrs. SpelmanTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many residence orders are in place for children who might otherwise be looked after; and what plans he has to increase such provision for children and young people for whom adoption is not the right answer. [113040]
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§ Jane KennedyI have been asked to reply.
We do not have information about how many residence orders are extant; however in 1998, the latest year for which figures are published, 30,398 residence orders were made.
Residence orders and adoption orders are not necessarily or usually alternative disposals in the same case. Residence orders are often made in cases in which no question of adoption or any form of state intervention arises, for example to determine which parent a child will live with following the breakdown of a marriage. The Government have no plans to increase the number of residence orders; it is for the courts to determine whether the making of a residence order is in the best interests of the child in any particular case.