Adoption rate highest in children between one and four years old

The 2011 figure was an increase on the previous year, when one to four-year-olds made up 58 per cent of adoptions in England and Wales, the Office for National Statistics said.

There was also a 6 per cent increase in the overall level of adoptions, with 4,734 in 2011 compared with 4,481 in 2010.

The percentage of children adopted who were born outside marriage increased slightly to 82 per cent last year, from 80 per cent in 2010.

Adoptions also increased in Scotland between 2010 and 2011 by 6 per cent, from 466 in 2010 to 494 in 2011.

In a reverse of last year’s figures, 49 per cent of children adopted in 2011 were male and 51 per cent were female. Since 1998, the number of male and female adoptions has been fairly even, the ONS said.

The proportion of adopted children aged one to four has steadily increased since 1998.

Last year’s figure of 62 per cent is almost double the proportion of 34 per cent in 1998.

Last month, Prime Minister David Cameron unveiled plans to accelerate placing children with potential adopters.

Youngsters will be able to move in with their possible future permanent families before lengthy legal procedures are finalised, Mr Cameron said.

Mr Cameron hopes the scheme will give children better starts in life in stable homes as quickly as possible. He wants men and women cleared as adopters to become foster parents until children can be legally adopted.

A Department for Education spokesman said: “Adoption can be a lifeline for vulnerable children and we are determined to see more children considered for adoption, particularly those who may previously have been overlooked.”