National Adoption Leadership Board: Case law guidance

In response to recent statistics which demonstrate a sharp decline in the numbers of children being adopted – believed to be a direct result of the recent cases of Re B [2013] UKSC 33 and Re B-S [2013] EWCA Civ 1146 – the Adoption Leadership Board have issued “myth-busting” guidance intended to dispel any potential misunderstandings among social workers and local authority lawyers as to the effect of these two cases.  The cases did not change the law in relation to adoption proceedings.

The Board reiterates that adoption is the best outcome for many children and that when a local authority is satisfied on the basis of expert, high-quality, evidence-based analysis of all the realistic options that adoption is required to meet the best interests of the child, it should be confident in presenting the Court with a care plan of adoption.

The guidance can be downloaded here.