§ Baroness Davidasked Her Majesty's Government:
How many would-be adopters have been rejected after assessment in each of the last live years. [HL4934]
59WA
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Lord Hunt of Kings Heath)The information requested is not collected centrally.
However, the department funded a study published by the British Association for Adoption and Fostering in 2000 called Children and families in the voluntary sector—An overview of child placement and adoption work by voluntary adoption agencies in England 1994–1998. This study was based on a sample of 949 cases from existing data collected and held by the Social Services Inspectorate. The SSI obtain the information during the inspection of voluntary adoption agencies. The study found that where a decision was made about applicants who had applied to voluntary adoption agencies 94 per cent were successful. The study did not include decisions made by local authorities.