« Previous | Contents | Next »
Listen
ADOPTION POLICY REVIEW GROUP: CHOICES FOR CHILDREN IN FOSTERING AND ADOPTION
INTRODUCTION
In April 2001, the Scottish Executive set up the Adoption Policy Review Group under the chairmanship of Graham Cox, formerly Sheriff Principal of South Strathclyde, Dumfries and Galloway. It was agreed that Phase I would look at practice issues in the adoption field, and the Group's Report was published in June 2002, with the Executive's response. Work is continuing on consideration and implementation of the Recommendations.
The remit for Phase II of the Group's work is to review the law in Scotland about fostering and adoption. This Discussion Paper is designed to set out a range of legal issues that the author thinks should be looked at by the Group, together with some possible solutions. It is hoped that the ideas set out will stimulate discussion and debate on these and all related matters, and even provoke some controversy. The object is to raise issues, put forward some possible ideas for development and seek views on these and other relevant matters. Law in this area of practice should aim for a system of flexible control.
The Paper does not attempt:
- to cover all existing problems,
- to find every possible answer, or
- to give any final view on the range of subjects covered.
It is issued at the start of the Group's work on Phase II and therefore does not in any way suggest what the final recommendations might be.
The Paper is concerned with the law on fostering and adoption, not with private law issues such as general rights for unmarried fathers and other family members. Similarly, family and other private arrangements, which do not involve local authorities in making placements, are beyond the scope of this Paper, although some may be covered by the private fostering provisions ( see Chapter 12).
Although the different chapters attempt to cover as many aspects of fostering and adoption law as possible, there is only one brief specific one about children. This is because issues for children arise throughout the Paper. Similarly, there is no single chapter about adults or young people who have been adopted, because issues for them are also covered throughout.
To assist the discussion process, there is a list of numbered questions at the end of each chapter. These are repeated together at the end of the Paper for convenience. Obviously, respondents do not need to deal with all topics covered, and are not restricted to the questions in their responses.
The author would like to thank Sheriff Principal Cox for his help and support, and the Scottish Executive officials for their administrative assistance. She would also like to thank:
- Professors Nigel Lowe and Mervyn Murch of Cardiff Law School for permission to quote from their book, Supporting Adoption, (1998);
- BAAF (British Association for Adoption and Fostering) for permission to reproduce their 1996 Proposals for the Sheriff Court Rules Council on timetabling in adoption proceedings, to be found in Appendix III;
- Sheriff Alastair Stewart and W.Green for permission to use Sheriff Stewart's article on court timetables, to be found in Appendix III;
- Sheriff Principal I. D. Macphail for permission to reproduce his draft Practice Note for Freeing, Adoption and Parental Responsibilities Order cases, to be found in Appendix III.
And finally, she would like to thank all of those who have given and continue to give her the benefit of their knowledge of and views on the wide variety of issues in this area of law and practice.
Alexandra Plumtree.
Independent Legal Adviser to the Adoption Policy Review Group.
August 2003.
« Previous | Contents | Next »