Andrew Stephenson, MP for Pendle, has this week welcomed bold new Government plans to speed up the adoption system with a ‘foster-first’ policy for couples who are approved to adopt but who can still face long waits for paperwork to be completed.

The announcement, which comes as the latest official figures show that there were 1,295 children in Lancashire who were in the care system last year, is designed to reduce radically the times it takes for a baby to move in with their permanent family. Local authorities will be obliged to consider placing children with carers who have the potential to become their adoptive parents, rather than in temporary homes, meaning more babies will be moved into permanent homes more quickly.

Building on a range of measures already introduced to improve the adoption system, it will form a key element of the Government’s vision to ensure that more babies and children can benefit from a stable and loving family environment.

Andrew said:   “Most of us probably sometimes take it for granted that we are surrounded by a loving family to support us through the good times and the bad. It is absolutely vital to do all we can to help the hundreds of children in Lancashire who don’t so that they can find one as soon as possible.  This announcement will further speed up the process of creating loving and supportive families in Pendle and all over Britain, which is fantastic for them and great news for society as a whole."