Gay adoptions boom: Record one in seven couples approved by social workers are now same-sex

Nov 23, 2017 by Jill

by Steve Doughty, Mailonline:

Same-sex couples now make up a record one in seven of the total approved to adopt children, family court figures reveal.

The importance of gay adoption is growing as numbers of heterosexual couples going through the system fell to their lowest level in six years.

It follows a ruling by Supreme Court judges in 2013 that children should only be adopted as a last resort.

Since then the number of couples cleared to go through the final stages of the adoption process has fallen. In the year to June, the number of heterosexual couples in the queue dropped 12 per cent to 3,561, the Ministry of Justice figures show.

Meanwhile same-sex couples increased 13 per cent to a record high of 587, demonstrating how they make up a fast-rising share of those who pass the scrutiny of social workers for final approval.

The statistics also reveal the number of applications for adoption orders has fallen to its lowest level since 2013.

In a further blow to the Government’s drive to get children out of foster homes, the total achieving adoption has plunged by 20 per cent over the last two years to 4,350.

Read here