Issue - meetings

The Cabinet Member for Children’s Social Care and Disabilities presented the Adopt London East Annual Report for 2022/23.

The adoption functions of Tower Hamlets, Newham and Barking and Dagenham were delegated on 1 October 2019 to the London Borough of Havering within terms drawn up in a detailed partnership agreement.  Adopt London East (ALE) formally commenced operational activity on that date.

The report had been produced by the Head of Service for the ALE and all four Local Authorities received the report. The ALE report, attached at Appendix A to the report, provided a comprehensive overview and evaluation of adoption activity for 2022/23 in the following areas:

Ø  Recruitment and training of adopters;

Ø  Family finding for children with an adoption plan; and

Ø  Post adoption support to children, adoptive families, and birth families.

The Cabinet Member identified key highlights from the 2022/23 ALE report:

?  Adoption preparation training continued to be developed and improved. In 2022/23, a total of 21 placements were approved, which included one foster carer wishing to adopt. Just over a quarter of those adopters wanted to be approved as Early Permanence Carers;

?  There was an increase in the number Adoption Plans being made by the Agency Decision Maker (ADM) - a total of 43 made across ALE, with six being LBBD children; and

?  Across ALE, 25 children were placed with eight being from LBBD.  76% of the children were between the ages of 0-2 years and the oldest child matched was five-year’s old. Of the 25 children placed, 10 were placed via Early Permanence.

The Assembly resolved to note the report.

(Standing Order 7.1 (Chapter 3, Part 2 of the Council Constitution) was suspended at this juncture to enable the meeting to continue beyond the two-hour threshold).