Adoption system leaves too many parents isolated, government admits after BBC investigation

The government has admitted to the BBC that the adoption system "needs to improve", saying too many parents are currently left isolated in a "system that doesn't understand them". Josh MacAlister, the children and families minister for England, apologised to families who have received "support from services that isn't good enough". His comments come after a BBC investigation found that hundreds of adoptive parents had struggled to get help for their children or had been blamed for their emotional and behavioural difficulties. MacAlister said that a whole system change is under way in England and a 12-week consultation has been launched to ask adoptive parents what needs to be done in the long term to improve the system. While some adoptive parents have said the consultation is not thorough enough, MacAlister said it has been intentionally left broad because he wants there to be a "genuine effort to test our new approaches". In November, the BBC conducted the most extensive Freedom of Information request ever into adoptions that had broken down, finding that more than 1,000 adopted children in the UK had returned to care in the past five years. The true number is likely to be even l

Mar 18, 2026 → Mar 18, 2026