Pressure on government over adoption support and the ASGSF

Adoption UK has fought hard to get adoption on the face of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, managing to table amendments both at Report Stage in the  Commons  and at Committee Stage in the  Lords for a review of adoption support. These were intended as ‘probing’ amendments, to force parliamentary scrutiny of the issues and gaps that exist within adoption support, including the ASGSF, but more widely across health, education, and the shameful lack of any kind of support for adult adoptees. Whilst not passing to a vote, these amendments, and the reasoning for them, drew the attention of government ministers and opposition leaders. 

Months later, at Report Stage in the Lords (an important moment in the Bill’s passing), the House of Lords  recently voted to include an amendment to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill that would require the government to review the level of funding available per child through the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund (ASGSF) and to lay that review before Parliament with recommendations for increasing funding where needed. 

This was an encouraging moment in what has felt like a year-long battle by families, Adoption UK and others across the sector to get policymakers to scrutinise the government’s decision - made with no consultation or evidence base - to cut individual funding under the  ASGSF by 40% last April. 

Of course, this does not guarantee an increase in funding, nor improvements to the Fund, but it does lay the groundwork for greater parliamentary scrutiny of how much support is currently available and what steps might be needed to ensure adoptees and their families get the help they need. 

That is hugely welcome and sends a clear message that Parliament has heard the concerns of families and professionals who have campaigned hard for this Fund. In particular, the campaigners Action Against Changes to the ASGSF, who gathered evidence from families on the devastating impact the cuts to therapy and assessments were having, when the Department failed to do so.  

The Bill will soon move back to the House of Commons for ‘ping pong’. This is where MPs respond to the amendments passed in the Lords. It provides another opportunity for us to try to persuade MPs and the government to allow the amendment to become law.  

However, we know that the Department for Education is due to announce details of a public consultation on the future of the ASGSF – something they committed last September would be announced in the New Year. Since then, we have been told that the government plans this consultation to cover not just the ASGSF but to look more widely at adoption support. Baroness Smith of Malvern confirmed this in the House of Lords debate, saying: 

“We need to think longer term about the future of adoption support, as we promised to Parliament in September that we would—and perhaps even more so as we celebrate the centenary of adoption. We will shortly set out plans to engage widely on this with the aim of understanding how best to support children and young people to thrive in their new families and get the support they need in the most effective way.” 

It is possible the government announcement on a consultation on the future of adoption support will happen before MPs in the Commons get to scrutinise the Lords amendment, meaning the government is likely to try and persuade MPs there is no need for the Lords amendment to pass. 

However, the Lords vote on this amendment shows that parliamentary pressure matters, and this signals progress in elevating the voices of adopted people and their families – largely thanks to the thousands of adoptees and adopters who have raised their voices on this over the last year. 

Since the Bill was first introduced to the Commons at the end of 2024, Adoption UK has highlighted the missed opportunity of using this legislation to include any measures to improve the outcomes of adoptees. This point was recognised in this debate on the Bill by Lord Watson of Invergowrie who highlighted that the Bill only mentions adoption four times across its 137 pages, with three of those only in relation to other Acts of Parliament. This Government pledged in its election manifesto to support adopted people and their families. The exclusion of adoptees in policy to improve children’s wellbeing, together with the significant cuts to the ASGSF last April, has not honoured this commitment. It is now time to deliver on that promise, and we hope the forthcoming consultation on the future of adoption support, far from being focused on cost savings, is the beginning of positive reform to improve the health, wellbeing and long term outcomes for adoptees of all ages. 

When the Bill returns to the Commons, if the review is yet to be announced, Adoption UK will urge a Commons vote in support of a full and wide-ranging review. And we will continue to work with MPs from all parties to champion this issue, to help ensure that adopted people and their families can access the support they deserve. 

By Katharine Slocombe (Policy and Public Affairs Lead, Adoption UK)