To ask the Minister of Health to detail any actions he is taking to improve the adoption process.

The Adoption and Children Act, which received Royal Assent on 27 April 2022 will reform the legislative framework and procedural arrangements governing adoption in Northern Ireland and will lead to the introduction of a range of new measures aimed at improving the adoption process.

The Act will make the adoption process as efficient and robust as possible, reducing unnecessary delay and uncertainty for children. The framework for adoption will be more consistent with the principles and provisions of the Children (NI) Order 1995, the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and international human rights, ensuring that the child is put firmly at the centre of the adoption process.

The Act will introduce a statutory principle that, in general, delay is likely to prejudice the child’s welfare and a requirement for courts to draw up timetables for resolving adoption cases without delay. The aim is to reduce the drift and unnecessary delay that prolongs instability for children and families when adoption would be in a child’s best interests.

The Act also has power to enable adoption services to be managed and/or provided on either a regional or sub-regional basis. It is considered that regionalising some aspects of the service could potentially provide greater consistency, efficiency and accountability, build expertise and contribute to a greater culture of cross-sectoral partnership.

The Act will also place a duty on Trusts to make arrangements for the provision of adoption support services, as specified in regulations. This duty will be used to deliver a framework for adoption support services at both placement and post adoption order.

There is also a power to establish an independent review mechanism relating to adoption decision making which will be prescribed in regulations. This mechanism will enable prospective adopters to request a review of an adoption agency’s decision that they should not be approved to adopt.

This is a substantive programme of work and implementation of the Act is being taken forward on a phased basis over a period of 5 years from 2022 to 2027.

Implementation of the Act is currently progressing within the context of a severely restricted budget and social workforce challenges. Provisions to enable the introduction of transitional adoption support services arrangements and extended support for care leavers have been delayed until April 2025. Work is almost complete on the necessary regulations and guidance required to support implementation as soon as it is possible to do so.