The Executive has a commitment to improve procedures, services and support for adoptive and foster parents.
The number of adoption applications in Scotland by persons unrelated to the adoptee has been relatively stable since 2000, but there were 29 fewer such applications for which an outcome was reached in 2000 compared to 1999. To address questions surrounding the place of adoption in securing permanence for 'looked after' children, a review group was set up.
The first phase of the Adoption Policy Review, launched in April 2001, concentrated on the place of adoption services within the spectrum of services considered for children and young people; the quality of recruitment, selection and assessment procedures for prospective adopters; and the extent and quality of post-adoption support. The report on the first phase was published in June 2002 and its recommendations are being taken forward by the Scottish Executive in partnership with local authorities and the voluntary sector.
Adoption Policy Review Group -report phase I
(Also available to download in PDF format - 904k)
The second phase was launched in March 2003 and looked at the legal framework for adoption and other possible forms of permanence (the sense of belonging to a family), as well as a wide range of related subjects, some of which had come out of the first phase. The issues examined included the continuing need for adoption, adoption by unmarried couples and contact with birth families. Other issues explored included the provision of support services to families, court procedures and access to information about adoption cases. The report on the second phase, Adoption: Better Choices for Our Children, was published in June 2005.
Adoption Policy Review Group - report phase II
(Also available to download in pdf format -2.1Mb)
The Executive's response to the second phase report was also published in June 2005 as a consultation paper, "Secure and Safe Homes for Our Most Vulnerable Children" (also available to download in pdf format - 315k). The Review Group's recommendations will require a mixture of primary and secondary legislation, guidance from the Executive and administrative action by the Executive, the General Register Office for Scotland, local authorities, adoption agencies and others to implement fully. As a first step, the Adoption and Children (Scotland) Bill was introduced to the Scottish Parliament on 27 March 2006. The Bill intends to:
- modernise and improve the legal framework for adoption and permanence planning;
- create greater long-term stability and permanence for children who cannot live with their families;
- improve procedures, services and support for adoptive and foster parents and everyone involved in adoption and permanence;
- ensure that Scotland's most vulnerable children have the protection and security they need; and
- create a modern, child-centred adoption and permanence service that responds to the changing needs of individual children.
Implementation of the Adoption and Children (Scotland) Act 2007
The Bill referred to above was passed by the Scottish Parliament on 7 December 2006 and received Royal Assent on 15 January 2007, becoming the Adoption and Children (Scotland) Act 2007. The Act and the new Looked After Children (Scotland) Regulations were developed in response to the work of the Adoption Policy Review Group also referred to above. The Act and new Looked After Children Regulations will:-
- Introduce the Permanence Order, a new court order which will be flexible to meet looked after children's needs and will provide children more certainty about their future.
- Introduce regulations around assessment and approval of kinship carers, reflecting their increasing importance in meeting the needs of looked after children.
- Improve planning and decision making for looked after children, in line with Getting It Right For Every Child, requiring that all looked after children must have a plan for how their needs will be met and that the plan covers the child's immediate and longer-term needs.
- Require that the child's views are taken into account in making decisions.
The Scottish Government published the first consultation on the Looked After Children (Scotland) Regulations in December 2007. In the consultation stakeholders suggested significant changes to the draft Regulations. As a result, the Scottish Government agreed with stakeholders to carry out a second consultation. This second consultation ran alongside the consultations on the Adoption and Children (Scotland) Act regulations.
The majority of the SSIs (Orders and Regulations) required to give effect to the 2007 Act have now completed their passage through the Scottish Parliament and are set out in the table below. The exceptions are:-
(1) The Adoption and Children (Scotland) Act 2007 (Modification of Subordinate Legislation) Order 2009
(2) The Adoption and Children (Scotland) Act 2007 (Modification of Enactments) Order 2009
(these 2 Orders will simply update references to the Adoption (Scotland) Act 1978 in current legislation to the Adoption and Children (Scotland) Act 2007).
The Regulations giving effect to the 2007 Act will come into force on 28 September 2009, as will all those provisions of the Act which are not already in force. The Act is available at http://www.opsi.gov.uk/legislation/scotland/acts2007/asp_20070004_en_1.
Although the Looked After Children (Scotland) Regulations are not required to give effect to the 2007 Act, they have been included in the table. The Regulations are due to be considered by the Education, Lifelong Learning and Culture Committee on 2 September 2009.
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