adoptions

Good afternoon,

Thank you for your recent freedom of information request which has been
logged and the reference number is 2073.

Your enquiry has been forwarded to the appropriate officer and a full
response will be sent shortly.

Regards

FOI Team
Education & Children's Services
London Borough Hillingdon

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Ref FOI/2073

Dear Ms Moore

I am writing in response to your Freedom of Information Request below.

As I understand it you are requesting to know:

how many children have been forcibly adopted (without parental consent
and wishes) since 2006

Please find below the figures for the last 4 years within Hillingdon
Council. It shows the numbers of adoption orders granted each year
stating how many were ‘relinquished’, that is at the sole and
specific request of the parent/s.

The reminder would have been placed for adoption via formal care
proceedings and the court process and therefore, by their nature, likely
to have had an element of being against the wishes of the parent/s.

We do not use the term ‘forcible adoption’ as it would not reflect
the fact that care proceedings and adoption care planning is a complex
and emotional process.

Parents might oppose the Local Authority care plan for adoption in
court but then work positively and offer support to the plan for
adoption with it still being against their wishes to some extent.

Some parents will verbally state that they agree with the adoption but
not wish it to be recorded for the child in the future that this was the
case and need for it to be shown to their child in the future that they
opposed the adoption. Other parents verbally oppose but are unable, for
a variety of reasons, to actively oppose. Some withdraw from the care
proceedings process and we are unable to ascertain a view.

In relation to figures ;

2007 – 08

26 adoption orders granted of which 1 was relinquished, 15 were not
contested and 10 actively contested.

2008 – 2009

15 adoption orders were granted of which 2 were relinquished, 6 were
without a response from the birth parent, 2 were supported by the birth
parent and 5 were contested.

2009 – 10

22 adoption orders were granted. There were no relinquished children,
14 were not actively contested with 11 of these supported by at least
one parent and 8 were contested.

2010 to date 1 relinquished child and one contested adoption.

I trust this provides the information you are seeking

If you wish to discuss this matter please do not hesitate to contact me
on the details below.

If you wish to request an internal review of our response you should
write, within 2 months, to:

Office Managing Partner, Legal Services, Civic Centre, High St,
Uxbridge, UB8 1UW (or via email to [Hillingdon Borough Council request email] marked for the
attention of the Office Managing Partner).

Please remember to quote the reference number above in any future
communications.

If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review, you
have the right to apply to the Information Commissioner for a decision.
The Information Commissioner can be contacted at: Information
Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire,
SK9 5AF

Richard Ingle
Data Protection &
Freedom of Information Officer

Data Protection &
Freedom of Information Officer
Legal Services (3E 04)
London Borough of Hillingdon
Civic Centre
High Street
Uxbridge
UB8 1UW
01895 55(6923)

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12:50 >>>
Dear Hillingdon Borough Council,

I would like to know how many children have been forcibly adopted
(without parental consent and wishes) since 2006

Yours faithfully,

Melizza Moore

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