• 490 adoptions to same-sex couples in 2019

• 1 in 7 adoptions now to same-sex couples in England

 

One in seven adoptions in England were to same-sex couples in 2019, statistics released today (5 December) by the Department for Education reveal. 490 adoptions were to same-sex couples in England in 2018/19, the highest ever number in a single year raising the previous record from 450.

The total number of adoptions in England in 2019 fell to 3,570, the fourth consecutive year-on-year decline since 2015.  The number of children looked after in England rose by 4 per cent to 78,150 at 31 March 2019.

Tor Docherty, chief executive of New Family Social said: ‘It’s fantastic to see the increasing number of children finding their new forever families in England with LGBT+ people. In every adoption case the needs of the child must be paramount and today’s figures show that a number of agencies now work hard to consider a broader range of potential parents. However, there are still thousands of children in care whose lives could be transformed by an LGBT+ adopter or foster carer.’

Of the 490 adoptions, 240 were to married same-sex couples, 100 to couples in a civil partnership and 150 to same-sex couples not married or in a civil partnership. The statistics do not include the sexual orientation or gender identity of single adopters, bisexual people not in a same-sex relationship or trans people – unless they are part of a same-sex couple.