Paul Angeli introduced the report. He mentioned that there was a drive from central government to focus on adoption performance. He pointed out that the low number of adopted children in Merton meant that the percentages were easily skewed.

He said that adoption was an important priority for Children’s Social Care and that this year CSC would address the issue and place children quickly. He said that a lot of work was being undertaken to track children through the court process, and that care planning was being sped up. He pointed out to the panel that the report showed improved performance, and that the recent inspection had awarded a Good result.

Councillor Agatha Akyigyina asked how many children had been placed for adoption. Paul Angeli explained that this year 5 children had been placed, 6 were waiting for an adoption order, and 4 more were yet to be placed. The department was hoping to place one more by the end of the year. Yvette Stanley added that CSF was not expected to place all 15 by the end of the year. She said that an aim of 8-11 placed would be a good number. Paul Angeli explained that there was no central government target for number of children placed: the focus was on quick decision and placement.

Councillor Oonagh Moulton asked what was being done to speed up the process. Yvette Stanley explained that it was not just up to CSF – that the legal system could also delay proceedings, parents could appeal etc. She noted that it was a time of a big cultural change in the adoption services and across the Family Justice system.  All partners needed to improve.

Councillor Logie Lohendran asked what the age group for adoption placement was and whether CSF was working with other boroughs. Paul Angeli replied that Merton was working with Kingston, Richmond and Sutton in a consortium to create a system of potential adoptive carers across the boroughs to call on for placements.

Yvette Stanley said that regarding the age range, children being placed for adoption ranged from relinquished babies to any age, although children were rarely placed in their teenage years.

Councillor Peter Walker pointed out the report’s mention of a problem recruiting adoption staff. Paul Angeli said that this was a wider problem across London. He explained that skilled and experienced people were needed for the positions and they were not available in the numbers needed. Social workers in Merton have the option to move to the adoption team but often do not choose to. Yvette Stanley said that the vacancy rate was 15% in Merton but in other boroughs could be up to 40%.

Councillor Iain Dysart commended the improvement in speed of matching children with families and said he appreciated the complexities of the process. He asked how Merton was doing compared to neighbouring boroughs as this comparison would be picked up on by the media.

Yvette Stanley said that Kingston and Richmond were not on the league table as they had too few adopted children. She added that Merton had only just met the threshold, which is why one or two cases could skew the percentages.

Councillor Agatha Akyigyina agreed that the right decisions had to be made as a top priority. Peter Connellan asked what was being done to recruit adoption staff in schools. Yvette Stanley explained that young people were being encouraged to look at social work career opportunities, but that graduates were needed. She added that 5 or 6 LAC children were now going through university and they had a good history of social work careers. She pointed out that the high pressure and scrutiny of the role made it unattractive to people starting out in their careers although the work could be extremely rewarding.

RESOLVED: Panel noted the report.