Below is a summary of what the major parties have said in their manifestos about their plans for adoption, fostering, ongoing support for adoptive parents/foster carers and their kids and engaging LGBT+ people with these parenting routes.

Brexit party

No explicit references to adoption, fostering, ongoing support for families doing either or improving LGBT+ engagement.

Read the whole manifesto 

Conservative party

‘We will prioritise stable, loving placements for (children in care) – adoption where possible or foster parents recruited by the local authority. We will review the care system to make sure that all care placements and settings are providing children and young adults with the support they need.’

Read the whole manifesto

Democratic Unionist Party (DUP)

Manifesto currently unavailable

Green party

‘(Will) support councils to extend staying put arrangements, to enable fostered young people to stay with foster parents until they are 21.’

‘(Will) create a fully inclusive education system, where children with special education needs are able to access their local school and are fully supported in that school. This means ensuring accessible buildings, an inclusive curriculum and the provision of specially trained teachers across the school system. Specialist schools will be retained, for when children and parents would prefer that option.’

Read the whole manifesto

The Independent Group for Change

No explicit references to adoption, fostering, ongoing support for families doing either or improving LGBT+ engagement.

Read the whole manifesto

Labour party

‘(We will) put LGBT+ equality at the heart of government, ensuring our public services are LGBT+ inclusive and delivering on the national LGBT Action Plan…

‘Labour will launch a wholesale review of the care system, including kinship care, considering national standards such as a central register of foster parents and regulation of semi-supported housing, to ensure we meet the needs of every child.

‘We will protect and build on Staying Put for over-18s in care and the Adoption Support Fund.’

Read the whole manifesto 

Liberal Democrats

‘(We will) increase statutory paternity leave from the current two weeks up to six weeks and ensure that parental leave is a day-one right, and address continuing inequalities faced by same-sex couples.

‘(Will) triple the Early Years Pupil Premium (to £1,000) to give extra help to disadvantaged children who are at risk of falling behind from the very beginning of their education.’

‘(Will) end the crisis in Special Educational Needs and Disabilities funding by allocating additional cash to local authorities to halve the amount that schools pay towards the cost of a child’s Education Health and Care Plan.’

Read the whole manifesto

Plaid Cymru

No explicit references to adoption, fostering, ongoing support for families doing either or improving LGBT+ engagement.

Read the whole manifesto

Scottish National Party

Manifesto not yet published

UKIP

No explicit references to adoption, fostering, ongoing support for families doing either or improving LGBT+ engagement.

Read the whole manifesto

New Family Social’s LGBT+ Adoption & Fostering Week campaign returns in 2020, from 2-8 March. More information will be announced shortly and New Family Social member agencies that want to sign up for more information can complete this form to be added to the mailing list and join other agencies already receiving information including:

• ACE Adoption
• Action for Children
• Adopt London South
• Adopt South
• Adopt Thames Valley
• Adopt Together
• Adoption Connects
• Adoption Counts
• Adoption Focus
• Adoption Matters
• ARC Adoption North East
• Aspire Adoption
• Barnardo’s
• Birmingham Children’s Trust
• Bristol City Council
• Buckinghamshire County Council
• Caldecott Fostering
• Cambridgeshire County Council Fostering
• Caritas Care
• CCS Adoption
• City of Stoke-on-Trent
• Family Futures
• Five Rivers
• Kent County Council
• Leicestershire County Council
• Lincolnshire County Council
• London Borough of Southwark
• Medway Council
• Norfolk County Council
• Northumberland County Council
• One Adoption North & Humber
• One Adoption West Yorkshire
• PACT (Parents and Children Together)
• Rochdale Borough Council Fostering Service
• Scottish Adoption
• Sheffield City Council
• Slough Children’s Services Trust
• Southampton City Council
• St Andrew’s Children’s Society
• St David’s Children Society
• St Francis’ Children’s Society
• Staffordshire County Council
• Stockport Council
• Suffolk County Council
• Team Fostering
• Thurrock Council
• Together for Adoption
• Tower Hamlets
• Vale, Valleys & Cardiff Regional Adoption Collaborative
• Worcestershire County Council
• Yorkshire Adoption Agency
  

Adoptions by same same-sex couples in Wales fell to 40 in 2019, recently published figures by Stats Wales reveal. This means that the proportion of adoptions in Wales to same-sex couples fell to 1 in 8.

The first ever official statement on LGBT+ people adopting in Northern Ireland, shows that in 2018/19  11 per cent of adopters were same-sex couples. The figure – which is not present in any of the accompanying data tables – is the first time that any information on LGBT+ engagement with adoption in Northern Ireland has been released publicly. The information is published by the Information & Analysis Directorate in the Department of Health in Northern Ireland.

In England in 2108 1 in 8 adoptions were to same-sex couples.

Read Children Adopted from Care in Northern Ireland 2018/19

To mark National Adoption Week 2019, New Family Social spoke to both  Fyne Times  and The Telegraph about LGBT+ people adopting, why LGBT+ people are open to adopting those children who are considered ‘harder to place’ and how to start your adoption journey.

1 in 8 adoptions in England in 2018 were to same-sex couples. See all the figures on our statistics pages.

From next September, secondary schools in England will have to teach LGBT-inclusive Relationships and Sex Education, and primary schools to teach about ‘different families’ which can include LGBT families.

This education will help reduce bullying, improve LGBT young people’s lives and enable all children and young people to better understand and respect each other. It’s particularly important for the adoptive and foster children of LGBT+ people. One in eight adoptions in England in 2018 were to same-sex couples and these children have often had chaotic starts to their lives. The support of seeing their new families reflected in the classroom is immeasurable.

Local authorities – who oversee education in most schools – need to hear public support for LGBT-inclusive education. Whether you’re a parent, student, adoption or foster care agency worker, or anyone who’s ever been at school – you can now voice your support. Head over to Stonewall’s website to complete a simple form that’ll identify your local education lead and help you get in touch with them.

Find out more on Stonewall’s website.

The protests outside Birmingham schools have understandably prompted concern from many LGBT+ parents. Last year 1 in 8 adoptions in England were to same-sex couples, news that was warmly welcomed by New Family Social. We were also pleased when parliament passed regulations that meant that from September 2020 all secondary schools in England will be required to teach Relationships and Sex Education, and all primary schools in England will be required to teach Relationships Education.

However, recent demands that teachers airbrush LGBT+ adoptive parents or foster carers out of relationships lessons aren’t in the best interests of their vulnerable children – or the wider class. The needs of our children to understand and value different family structures in modern 21st century Britain is paramount, to properly prepare them for adult life.

New Family Social is committed to supporting LGBT+ people who adopt and foster, throughout their parenting journey. This includes working with education and partner organisations to better support LGBT+ adoptive and foster families, to enable these parents to help their children reach their full potential. Much of this work is carried out discretely to avoid further enflaming the current situation that has already caused considerable distress to some of the affected children and staff at the schools.

If you’re an LGBT+ parent and want to find out more about the changes to education check out the information on Stonewall’s website.

The Adoption Barometer – the latest research from Adoption UK – shows that adopted children are twice as likely not to be in employment, education or training (NEET) as their peers, 16 per cent of them have had contact with the criminal justice system and 39 per cent have needed help from mental health services.

Three quarters of adopted children have suffered significant violence, abuse or neglect in their birth families, with a lasting impact that extends into early adulthood and affects life chances, placing huge emotional and often financial strain on adoptive families. There are at least 55,000 adoptive families in the UK.

While advances have been made in recruitment and preparation of adopters, the report argues government policies still don’t address the heart of the challenges faced by adoptive families, and especially families with older children.

Around 3,500 families across the UK were surveyed, asking them to reflect on their experiences during 2018. The research also assessed national policy relating to adoptive families at each stage of their adoption journey.

The report says that 79 per cent of families would encourage others to adopt - despite the fact that 70 per cent say they face a continual struggle for support.

 

Key findings from the report:

• 79 per cent of adoptive families would encourage others to adopt
• 84 per cent of prospective adopters say their social worker understood and supported them through the process of approvals & matching
• 50 per cent of prospective adopters found the process so difficult that they wondered if they could continue
•  54 per cent of new adopters experienced stress, anxiety or the symptoms of post-adoption depression during the early weeks
• 56 per cent of established adopters faced significant or extreme challenges
• 65 per cent of parents experienced violence or aggression from their child
•  70 per cent feel that it is a continual struggle to get the help and support their child needs
• 45 per cent feel that contact with birth family is not well-managed by their agency
• 24 per cent experienced direct birth family contact outside of a formal agreement – often unsolicited, via social media
•  Nearly three-quarters of parents agreed that their 16-25 year-olds need significant ongoing support in order to live independently
• 16-25 year-olds were twice as likely to be not in education, employment or training (NEET) as their peers
• 39 per cent of 16-26 year-olds had been involved with mental health services
• 44 per cent of children had diagnosed social, emotional and mental health needs
• Adopted children in England were 20 times more likely to be permanently excluded
• 80 per cent of home educating adoptive families would prefer their child to be in school

Read the report on the Adoption UK website.

The Scottish government published statistics this week showing that the number of adoptions in Scotland by same-sex couples fell from 30 in 2017 to 28 in 2018. However, as the total number of adoptions also fell in the country this means that the proportion of adoptions by LGBT+ people in Scotland rose slightly.

Find out more on the National Records of Scotland.

Gig