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Scotland’s adoption system is set to be overhauled in a bid to stem the decline in the number of children adopted, the Scottish executive has announced, writes Derren Hayes.

The proposals aim to broaden the pool of potential adopters by allowing same sex and unmarried couples to adopt, simplify the legal process to reduce the amount of time adoptions take to go through the courts and offer more post-adoption support to children and families.

Plans for a new permanence order, which will give long-term stability to children who cannot live with their birth families but for whom adoption is not the best option, were also unveiled.

Deputy education minister Euan Robson said the system needed to change because the number of adoptions in Scotland had dropped from 1,000 to 400 a year since the mid-1980s.

The proposals came out of a three-year review by a group of adoption and legal experts. One of its members, Baaf Adoption and Fostering’s Scottish director Barbara Hudson, said the complicated interface between the courts, children’s hearing system and the council planning process meant it took up to two years to complete adoptions.

“I would hope that we can reduce that to something between six and nine months because it is better for the child,” she explained.

However, allowing same sex and unmarried couples to adopt – currently, only one half of the couple can apply – promises to be the most controversial aspect of the plans. When similar changes were introduced in England in 2003, they caused protests from religious and pro-marriage groups.

Hudson said the move would increase the number of people that apply to adopt, but hoped it wouldn’t dominate debate on the proposals.

“Sadly there are some sectors of society that may feel the change in legislation is a threat to marriage as an institution, but for those most closely involved in the sector it won’t be seen as the most important aspect,” she added.

The executive is to publish a consultation paper on the proposals shortly.

Proposals from http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/54357/0012604.pdf