At Education Questions this week Emma criticised a Government policy which has seen fewer children being put forward for adoption.
Emma explained how the time limits the Coalition has imposed on care proceedings mean social workers are no longer able to do the thorough groundwork needed to make the case for adoption. This has resulted in social workers delaying taking cases to court, resulting in delays for children.
It recently emerged that the number of children put forward for adoption in England has nearly halved in the last year.
Emma said:
“The Minister knows that the number of children put forward for adoption has halved in the past year. The Government’s unrealistic time scales have meant that social workers are left with no option but to hold off issuing care proceedings, resulting in a logjam in social services departments and, in some cases, increasing delays for children. Will the Minister accept responsibility for this situation and urgently reconsider this ill-thought-out policy?”
The Minister replied that the fall was due to a “misinterpretation of the law” and the Government was working to get rid of delays. You can read Emma’s question and the Minister’s response here.
But the reality is that social workers who are already facing huge workloads are now finding that the new time limits make it impossible for them to do their job properly.
Speaking after education questions, Emma said:
“The Minister claims that this is down to a misunderstanding, but social workers know the law. What is happening is that social workers don’t have time to make a proper case for adoption anymore, and that has meant that a lot of children aren’t being put up for adoption, even when it is the right option for them.
“The time limits imposed by the Government were meant to speed up the process, but they’re actually having the opposite effect. The Minister needs to realise that what really results in the best outcomes for children is having social workers who are well trained and have the resources to do the job.”