Disclosure Team
Ministry of Justice
102 Petty France
London
SW1H 9AJ
Diana Isitt
xxxx.xxxxxx@xxxxxxx.xxx.xx
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx
19 November 2019
Dear Ms Isitt
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Request – 191109001
Thank you for your request dated 9 November 2019 in which you asked for the following
information from the Ministry of Justice (MoJ):
Under the Freedom of Information Act I would like to know the number of children
each year under the age of 2 that were forcibly adopted in England since 2010,
breaking it down by local authority.
I look forward to a swift reply
Your request is being handled under the FOIA.
I have considered your request for information but I am unable to answer it without further
clarification. Section 1(3) of the FOIA does not oblige us to answer requests where we
require further clarification to identify and locate the information requested.
So that I provide you with the right information, please can you clarify your specific definition
of ‘forced adoption’ that you refer to in this request? Data on whether adoptions are
contested or not is available – would this be suitable? It covers when consent is actively
given for adoption by the parent(s)/guardians(s) and there are not any parent/guardian that
opposes the adoption. This consent (or opposition) is then translated to indicate whether it is
being contested or not.
While writing to you, I’d like to make you aware that data may only be available from 2011
onwards.
On receipt of this information I will continue to process your request.
Yours sincerely
David Carmichael
Justice Statistics Analytical Services