Government publishes guide to bust adoption law myths and misconceptions

Martin Narey hopes the document will reassure social workers that the law on adoption has not changed following recent judgements

Children are missing out on the chance to be adopted because social workers have over-reacted to a number of recent court judgements, Sir Martin Narey has warned.

The warning came as the adoption adviser published a ‘myth-busting’ guide to clarify the rulings and reassure social workers that the law has not changed.

Narey, who chairs the National Adoption Leadership Board, claimed key Supreme Court and Court of Appeal judgments made last year – in particular the rulings Re B and Re BS – have led to confusion around the law on adoption.

They reiterated the need for adoption decisions to be based on robust analysis of all realistic options, and set out that adoption should only be pursued where it is necessary for the child’s welfare. This, Narey said, appears to have deterred councils from pursuing adoption.

He said: “After two years of significant progress in finding more adoptive homes for the thousands of children waiting – transforming their lives along the way – we have seen a sudden and significant fall off in the number of children being put forward for adoption.

“It is clear from my discussions with social workers and managers in local authorities and in voluntary adoption agencies, that there is a belief that the law has been fundamentally changed by a number of court judgements.”

Martin Narey: ‘We risk reversing substantial progress and damaging life-long outcomes for children’

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