§ Bob SpinkTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what progress has been made on improving the(a) efficiency, (b) speed and (c) effectiveness of the Child Adoption Service; and if he will make a statement. [167203]
§ Margaret HodgeIn February 2000 the Prime Minister announced a review of adoption by the Performance and Innovation Unit (PIU). The PIU identified key problems and made recommendations in its report, published in July 2000.
Following this review the Government implemented a raft of measures to help improve the adoption service. The Government have:
set an adoption target for the year ending March 2005 for an increase of 40 per cent. in the number of adoptions of looked after children. The baseline for this target is the 2,700 adoptions arranged during the year ending March 2000. Up to the year ending March 2003 there had been an increase of nearly 30 per cent., with 3,500 children being adopted from care;published statutory National Adoption Standards setting out clear timescales for adoption agencies to make decisions about children and prospective adopters;1566Wset up an Adoption and Permanence Task Force to identify problems in service delivery and to strengthen and promote best practice. The task force has worked with many local authorities to develop and improve their adoption services;developed an Adopter Recruitment Toolkit and a video for adoption agencies to support their local recruitment of prospective adopters;established an Adoption Register for England and Wales to help identify potential links between children needing families and those waiting to adopt, and so widen the pool of potential adopters for children;introduced the Ad option and Children Act 2002, which received Royal Assent on 7 November 2002. The Act overhauls the outdated 1976 Adoption Act and modernises the whole existing legal framework for domestic and inter-country adoption.The Government have already implemented the following key provisions of the Adoption and Children Act 2002 (the Act):
1 June 2003: restrictions on adoptions from overseas;31 October 2003: adoption support for adoptive families;1 December 2003: parental responsibility for unmarried fathers who jointly register the birth of their child with the mother;1 April 2004: advocacy services for children and young people.The first phase of the independent review mechanism, which will cover prospective adopters whose adoption agency is minded not to approve them, became operational on 30 April 2004. We expect the provisions on Independent Reviewing Officers to come into force in September 2004.
A series of consultation documents are being published this year on other provisions in the Act. Copies will be available in the Library.
The regulations, court rules and guidance required to implement the core of the Act should be in place by the end of 2004. After a period for preparation and training, we expect the legislation to come into force in September 2005.
§ Tim LoughtonTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what estimate he has made of the number of birth parents who wish to establish contact with children given up for adoption; and how he proposes to help them. [169043]
§ Margaret HodgeThe Adoption and Children Act 2002 (the Act) provides for two new access to information frameworks, which could facilitate contact between an adopted adult and his birth relatives. The Government are now consulting on the draft regulations and guidance to implement the provisions in the Act, and a copy of the consultation document is in the Library. Section 98 of the Act provides for access to information in relation to adoptions made before the commencement of the Act and sections 56 to 65 of the Act provide the framework for access to information in relation to post-commencement adoptions.
According to statistics from the Registrar General's Office, approximately 875,000 people have been adopted since the commencement of the Adoption Act 1926. It is only possible to speculate how many people may choose to exercise their right to apply for information under section 98 of the Act. When the numbers of birth parents and other relatives are 1567W considered, there could be over two million people who might have an interest in applying or who may be the subject of an application.
The Government anticipate that there will be an initial surge of applications from those who have been waiting for section 98 of the Act to be implemented. Some adoption stakeholders have suggested that this could amount to around 20,000 to 30,000 initial applications. The Government intend the framework for section 98 to be implemented in two stages to help registered adoption support agencies, adoption agencies, the Registrar General and the courts manage the initial demand for services. We are consulting on this specific point as part of the overall consultation for the regulations and guidance on access to information and we will carefully consider the responses.
£000 April 2001 to July 20011 August 2001 to July 2002 August 2002 to July 2003 LSC Area Basic skills Key skills Basic skills Key skills Basic skills Key skills London North 8,753 985 14,099 1,395 18,829 1,921 London West 13,671 858 24,013 1,629 29,303 1,652 London Central 18,207 1,119 38,694 1,733 38,130 1,204 London East 14,746 1,476 31,412 2,114 39,783 2,367 London South 5,758 998 13,241 1,488 15,398 1,728 1The figures for April to July 2001 include costs incurred from August 2000 on learning aims continuing into April 2001. From the information available to the LSC it has not been feasible to obtain estimates at constituency level or separate figures by subject without incurring disproportionate cost. Likewise it has not been feasible to obtain comparable figures for periods before April 2001 when the Skills for Life strategy was launched and the LSC was formed, but information shows it was considerably less than at present.
§ Mr. HendrickTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what public funding has been spent on adult(a) literacy and (b) numeracy in Preston in each of the last five years. [169683]
§ Mr. Ivan LewisThe estimated total spend on Skills For Life (the Government's strategy for literacy, language and numeracy needs of all post-16 learners from pre-entry level up to and including level 2) and on Key Skills (essential skills of communication, application of number and information technology), from April 2001 to July 2003, in the Lancashire Learning and Skills Council (LSC) area is set out in the following table:
Lancashire Learning and Skills Council (LSC) £000 Basic skills Key skills April to July 20011 3,370 1,270 August 2001 to July 2002 6,577 1,857 August 2002 to July 2003 7,815 1,948 1The figures for April to July 2001 include costs incurred from August 2000 on learning aims continuing into April 2001. From the information available to the LSC it has not been feasible to obtain estimates at constituency level or separate figures by subject without incurring disproportionate cost. Likewise it has not been feasible to obtain comparable figures for periods before April 2001 when the Skills for Life strategy was launched and the LSC was formed, but information shows it was considerably less than at present.