Gove acts to smooth way to adoption

Education Secretary Michael Gove said some of the limitations put on adopters in the past – based on ethnicity, sexual orientation and faith – was “social engineering of the worst kind”.

Outlining the measures being introduced, the Minister said: “At the moment, the system simply doesn’t allow many of those people who are desperate to help the chance to give young people and children a loving home.

“It has always been the case unfortunately that far too many children are growing up in circumstances where sadly they won’t have the architecture or stability that means they can achieve everything of which they are capable.”

The Government said progress in adoption has stalled in recent years, with the number of children placed for adoption falling by 15 per cent between March 2009 and 2010, and more children were waiting longer to be adopted.

Black children took over 50 per cent longer on average to be placed for adoption than children from other ethnic groups.

Mr Gove said: “What I do find difficult to accept is that we’ve created over time a web of rules that mean that we are not always putting the interests of children first.”

Speaking about the barriers faced by adopters previously, he said: “We said that this particular couple can’t adopt because, in the past, they might have the wrong sexuality, they might even have the wrong ethnic background.

“It could be that they’re too young, it could be that their social background doesn’t make for perfect match.

“That sort of thinking is social engineering of the worst kind.”

He spoke about his own experience of being adopted at the age of four months, saying: “I was given a second chance.”