News

The government has unveiled new standards for adoption and a national register, with a commitment to increase the rate of adoptions by 40 per cent.

Local authorities have also been set targets of ensuring that the average time taken to make an adoption decision about a looked after child should be a year and four months, and the average time from a decision to placement should be seven months.

The register, which will be run by charity Norwood Ravenswood, will contain the details of all children waiting to be adopted and approved adoptive families. A team of staff will offer advice on matches, which will then be considered locally by social workers in the usual way.

Health minister Jacqui Smith said: 'The adoption register and national standards are key to transforming the adoption process.

'Once adoption has been identified as the best course of action we are determined that children are adopted as quickly as possible," she said.

* A longer more detailed report will appear later.