Press releases

MPs join BAAF to celebrate success of Adoption Register for England and Wales

Issued: 02 September 2005

Politicians and social workers from England and Wales will today join adopted children and their families at a reception to celebrate the success of the Adoption Register for England and Wales.

Sixty-eight children have been matched with permanent families as a direct result of the register, which has been run by the British Association for Adoption & Fostering (BAAF) since last December. It uses a specialist database and the skills of a specially trained team to find potentially suitable families for children across England and Wales.

Most of the children referred to the register have complex needs and backgrounds and no suitable adoptive families are available in their local area. Children already placed with new families include groups of brothers and sisters who need to stay together, older children and children from black and minority ethnic backgrounds.

Maria Eagle MP (Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Children, Young People and Families) and Jane Hutt AM (Minister for Children, the Welsh Assembly Government) will hear from BAAF about achievements so far and plans for the future.

Felicity Collier, BAAF Chief Executive, says: "BAAF was delighted to be selected to run the Adoption Register and welcomed the Government's decision that the register should only focus on matching children with families rather than on also compiling statistics as it has in the past. We have a long track record of finding loving and permanent families for children who may otherwise remain in care and we believe the Register has a vital role to play in reducing the wait still experienced by too many children."

Andy Stott, Adoption Register Manager, said: "We are pleased with the positive relationships that we have made with adoption agencies throughout England and Wales and aim to develop our service to them to increase the numbers of children for whom adoptive placements are found."

Maria Eagle MP, says: "Adoption provides the opportunity for children in care to be a part of a permanent loving family. The Adoption Register is an important means through which children are placed with suitable families and I welcome the ongoing work of our partners in BAAF."

Jane Hutt AM, says: "There is nothing more important to a child than being part of a loving family so I am delighted to hear that some children from Wales have already been matched with adopters through links made by the Adoption Register for England and Wales. I know that the Register will help many more children to find the right family."

Mike Wood, MP for Batley & Spen, says: "The Adoption Register run by BAAF is proving to be a tremendous success and is making a real difference in such an important field. The adoption process can be a heart breaking experience - whether adoptive parents are being sought for children who need a home or whether families are seeking to adopt a child. Anything which makes this easier has to be welcomed and supported and I do so whole heartedly."

Meg Munn, MP for Sheffield Heeley, will also attend the reception at the Adoption Register offices in Leeds.

The Adoption Register was set up in 2001 by the Westminster and Welsh Assembly Governments. BAAF has operated the register on behalf of the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) and the Welsh Assembly since 1st December 2004. Since then, more than 600 children and 450 adoptive families have been referred to the Register.

The register also runs a helpline for approved adoptive families, which enables them to find out the progress being made in helping to match them with children.

Notes to Editors

Photocall: MPs, adoptive families and BAAF staff celebrate the success of the Adoption register for England and Wales
Time: 11.30am
Place: Adoption Register for England & Wales, Unit 4, Pavilion Business Park, Royds Hall Road, Wortley, Leeds LS12 6AJ

1. To reserve a press place at the photocall please contact Lucy Handford on 020 7593 2054, email lucy.handford@baaf.org.uk
2. If you are unable to attend the photocall and would like to obtain images from the event and accompanying information, telephone the press office on Monday 5th September on 020 7593 2054 or 07767 444 589.
3. For more information about the National Adoption Register for England & Wales, please visit www.adoptionregister.org.uk
4. An Interim Report on the first six months of operation of The Register is available at: http://www.dfes.gov.uk/adoption/update300605.shtml