BAAF Calls For Changes To Outdated Adoption Law Barring Unmarried Couples From Adopting

BAAF welcomes the new Adoption and Children Bill which has its second reading in Parliament on Monday 29th Oct. BAAF believes this is a first step in long awaited reform to adoption legislation, but calls on the Government to change the new Bill in line with public opinion to allow unmarried couples in stable long-term relationships to adopt jointly - and thereby increase the number of families able to offer permanent homes to waiting children.

Public opinion supports this change:

• New MORI research commissioned by BAAF shows that 68% of people believe unmarried couples in stable long-term relationships should be eligible to adopt jointly ¹
• 10% of the 5000 enquiries about adopting a child received by BAAF during National Adoption Week 1999, were from unmarried couples living together.
• There were 1.5 million cohabiting couples in 1996 and the Office for National Statistics estimated that this figure would double to 3 million by 2000/1 ²

Currently the law states that only one person from a co-habiting couple is legally allowed to adopt so that the child who is placed with such a couple is able to enjoy the lifelong legal relationship of adoption with only one partner. The Government has so far rejected calls to include this change in the new Adoption and Children Bill going through Parliament.

Felicity Collier, Chief Executive of BAAF Adoption & Fostering says:

"This outdated law denies many vulnerable children the security of having two legal parents. Social workers still assess rigorously the suitability of both adults to act as parents to the child while knowing full well that only one adult will have that legal status. If the Government is serious about achieving its targets of increasing adoptions by 40% by 2004, it needs to break down the barriers which are preventing potential families coming forward to adopt. The Adoption and Children Bill is a once in a lifetime opportunity to reform adoption law; we call on the Government not to miss this vital opportunity to get it right."

MORI Survey Results

• 68% of people agree that unmarried couples in stable, long-term relationships should be eligible to adopt jointly
• 36% of people strongly agree unmarried couples should be eligible to adopt
• 82% of co-habiting couples and 68% of married couples agree that unmarried couples should be eligible to adopt
• 18% of people disagree (but only 8% strongly disagree) that unmarried couples should be eligible to adopt jointly
• Almost twice as many unmarried cohabiting couples than married couples have considered adopting or would consider adopting in the future (40% and 22% respectively)
• Over twice as many cohabiting couples as single people have considered adoption but did not take it any further (17% vs 6% respectively)

Technical details

1. MORI interviewed a representative quota sample of 2006 adults aged 15+ in 195 samples across Great Britain. Interviews were carried out face-to-face in homes between 6-11 Sept 2001 on a MORI's General Public Omnibus Survey. The data was weighted to reflect the national profile
2. 1996 research conducted by the Office for National Statistics and Government Actuaries Dept.
3. British Agencies for Adoption and Fostering (BAAF) is the leading organisation with a UK-wide voice promoting best practice in both adoption and fostering services for children separated from their birth families.
4. For more details about BAAF visit www.baaf.org.uk
5. The Adoption and Children Bill was first introduced to Parliament in March 2001 and a Parliamentary Select Committee was established to examine evidence on the Bill, which fell due to the election in June. The new Adoption and Children Bill presented to Parliament Friday 19th Oct incorporates amendments to the previous Bill based on evidence presented at Select Committee.