Adoption and foster care

Adoption

The Adoption and Children Act 2002 (ACA 2002) embodies the law on adoption and places a duty on local authorities to make arrangements for the provision of adoption support services to promote adoption as a means of providing permanent homes to looked after children. See Practice Note: General principles—adoption.

Placement orders

ACA 2002 provides a framework for authorising the placement of children for adoption under a placement order. A local authority may be obliged to apply for a placement order or may have discretion to apply for a placement order. See Practice Note: Adoption—placement orders.

Adoption orders

Local authority solicitors will generally advise about adoption applications in four situations:

•
children who are the subject of placement orders, usually in the context of care proceedings

To view the latest version of this document and thousands of others like it, sign-in with LexisNexis or register for a free trial.

TAKE A FREE TRIAL

Latest Local Government News

Housing Ombudsman and Regulator of Social Housing Review MoU and confirm collaborative commitments

The Housing Ombudsman and the Regulator of Social Housing have completed their review of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), which was signed in 2024, and confirmed its ongoing relevance. Both the Housing Ombudsman and Regulator of Social Housing have reaffirmed their commitment to close collaboration and adherence to the MoU’s provisions. These include maintaining complementary approaches while respecting each other’s independence, engaging in early communication on significant issues, directing enquirers to the appropriate organisation with clear explanations, holding regular meetings at various seniority levels, promoting an understanding of their respective roles among residents and landlords, and ensuring consistent communication about their functions.

Local Government weekly highlights—4 September 2025

This week's edition of Local Government weekly highlights includes: case analysis of G (A Child: Scope of Fact-Finding), in which the Court of Appeal considered when a fact-finding hearing is necessary to inform a risk assessment and Saravanamuthu v SSCHLG on a challenge to the validity of a compulsory purchase order. Case reports include Somani Hotels Ltd v Epping Forest DC in which the court lifted the injunction on the use of hotels for asylum seekers and allowed the SSHD to join proceedings as an intervenor; R (Paul Knights) v South Norfolk DC, in which the Administrative Court quashed planning approval for ignoring key evidence; Mole Valley DC v SSHCLG in which the High Court rejected the Green Belt challenge and the application for judicial and statutory review was deemed unarguable; R (SK) v Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in which the court set aside an interim mandatory injunction in finding that the claimant did not establish a strong case that the current accommodation was unsuitable simply due to one of the child’s temporary inpatient stays in hospital which impeded frequent visits; and Iqbal v Listing Officer Epsom, which upheld the decision that the Class G council tax exemption did not apply to the dwelling in question. Further developments include MHCLG’s launch of consultation on measures to streamline infrastructure planning process and response to the LGSCO Triennial Review declining to make use of revised Complaint Handling Code mandatory; the Cabinet Office’s update of Model Services Contract and Guidance for buyers under PA 2023; DfE notices to improve, guidance on Terrorism Act compliance for the education sector and consultation response on unregistered alternative provision standards. It includes further updates on Social housing, Social care, Education, Healthcare and Governance.

Education Committee launches inquiry into early years sector reforms

The Education Committee has launched an inquiry examining recent reforms in the early years education sector. The inquiry will assess the implementation of the government's 'Giving Every Child the Best Start in Life Strategy' announced in July 2025, which includes £4,500 incentives for teachers in disadvantaged areas and four-yearly Ofsted inspections. The Committee seeks evidence by 10 October 2025.

Latest consultation on public procurement reform closes 5 September 2025

The Cabinet Office has issued a reminder that its consultation on further public procurement reforms closes at 5pm on 5 September 2025. The consultation opened on 26 June 2025 and outlines plans for further reforms to the public procurement regime, building on the reforms introduced by the Procurement Act 2023 (PA 2023). The Cabinet Office says that the consultation aims to inform the development of future primary legislation amending PA 2023 ‘when parliamentary time allows’.

View Local Government by content type :

News