Skip to content 
Search

Latest Stories

Minister urges Asian adopters to give children ‘forever home’

by LAUREN CODLING

ASIAN families have been encouraged to consider adoption, as figures show children from ethnic minority backgrounds often wait the longest to be placed.


Data from the Department of Education shows that 240 children from BAME backgrounds waited more than 18 months to be adopted since entering care. Many of these children are under the age of five.

To mark National Adoption Week, additional figures published last Wednesday (14) showed there are currently around 2,400 children waiting for adoption. However, just over 1,800 approved adopters are ready to give them a home.

Addressing Eastern Eye readers, minister for children and families Vicky Ford urged potential adopters to “come forward”. “We have 2,400 children who need a home. It’s so sad that they can’t stay with birth families any more, which may be for many different reasons, but they need a loving family,” she said. “We need people from all ethnic backgrounds for children waiting for adoption.”

Ford stressed perceived barriers related to adoption were often myths. Many believe that single people cannot adopt, she said, or that they should be in full-time work.

“You can come forward if you already have children, or if you have none,” she explained. “You can be an adopter if you’re a single person, or if you’re married, or if you’re in a civil partnership. You don’t need to be employed; you just need to be financially secure. We want people from all walks of life.”

Commenting on the statistics about BAME children waiting to be adopted, education secretary Gavin Williamson said “we must end an obsession with finding the perfect ethnic match for children”.

In 2019, an Asian couple claimed they were “told not to bother applying” for adoption because of their ethnic heritage. Sandeep and Reena Mander said Adopt Berkshire discriminated against them by turning them away, because only white children were available for adoption. The pair was awarded nearly £120,000 in damages last December, after a judge ruled they were discriminated against by not being allowed to adopt a child.

Williamson stressed there were “no acceptable reasons” why adopters should be blocked from registering simply because there are no children of the same ethnic heritage waiting to be adopted.

Ford said some families may find trans-racial adoptions “challenging” – but she emphasised the “rewarding” outcomes. “In some families, what you find is they really celebrate and embrace different racial identities within their families,” she said. She added that trans-racial families have access to support from services such as the Adoption Support Fund, which was launched in 2015. The organisation is thought to help nearly 61,000 adoptive and special guardianship order families across the country with therapeutic support.

National Adoption Week will also see the launch of a network aiming to connect with mosques, churches and community groups to encourage more potential ethnic minority adopters to come forward. The campaign is due to start with pilot services in London and Birmingham.

“These children need these loving forever homes,” Ford said. “In National Adoption Week, please think about whether or not you may be the person who can provide that love to that child.”

The government confirmed last week that £6.5 million would be provided to local authorities and regional adoption agencies to help adoptive families facing greater stress during the Covid-19 pandemic

More For You

Imran Khan

The announcement comes as the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, led by jailed former prime minister Imran Khan, prepares for nationwide protests on August 5, marking two years since his arrest.

Getty Images

Pakistan announces new paramilitary force ahead of PTI protests

PAKISTAN has announced the creation of a new national paramilitary force, raising concerns among opposition parties and human rights groups about its possible use for political repression.

The new force will be called the Federal Constabulary and will be formed by restructuring an existing paramilitary unit currently operating along the northwestern border with Afghanistan, state minister for the Interior Talal Chaudhry said at a press conference in Faisalabad on Monday.

Keep ReadingShow less
Altaf Hussain

Hussain has been living in London since 1992 and holds British citizenship. (Photo credit: Getty Images)

Getty Images

Founder of Pakistan's MQM Altaf Hussain hospitalised in London

Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) founder Altaf Hussain has been hospitalised in London after falling seriously ill, according to a party official.

Hussain, 71, was admitted to a hospital on Thursday due to a severe illness, where doctors carried out various tests, Mustafa Azizabadi, Convener of MQM’s Central Coordination Committee, said on social media.

Keep ReadingShow less
Communities face 'powder keg' of unrest risk, report warns

Social media emerged as a significant threat to community cohesion, the British Future report said. (Photo: Getty Images)

Communities face 'powder keg' of unrest risk, report warns

COMMUNITIES remain at risk of fresh unrest unless urgent action is taken to address deep-seated social tensions, a new report, published one year after last summer's riots, has cautioned.

Titled 'The State of Us' by British Future thinktank and the Belong Network, the report published on Tuesday (15) said successive governments have failed to take action and warned that a "powder keg" of unresolved grievances could easily ignite again without immediate intervention.

Keep ReadingShow less
Metropolitan police

The Metropolitan Police said the sentencing followed a 'comprehensive operation'. (Photo: Getty Images)

Getty Images

Gang jailed for stealing £1 million jewellery from London’s Indian community

FOUR members of an organised crime network that stole more than £1 million worth of jewellery from Indian and South Asian families in London have been sentenced to a total of 17 years and one month in prison.

The Metropolitan Police said the sentencing followed a “comprehensive operation” that led to the imprisonment of Jerry O’Donnell, 33, Barney Maloney, Quey Adger, 23, and Patrick Ward, 43. All four were sentenced at Snaresbrook Crown Court on Friday after previously pleading guilty to burglary.

Keep ReadingShow less
Air India flight crash
Air India's Boeing 787-8 aircraft, operating flight AI-171 to London Gatwick, crashed into a medical hostel complex shortly after take-off from Ahmedabad on June 12.
Getty Images

After report of CAA warning on Boeing fuel switches, regulator issues clarification

FOUR weeks before an Air India Boeing 787-8 crashed after takeoff from Ahmedabad, media reports cited a safety notice issued by the UK's Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) highlighting potential issues with fuel control switches on Boeing aircraft.

The CAA has now clarified that the safety notice in question — Safety Notice Number SN-2015/005 — was originally issued in 2015. The document was updated on 15 May 2025 only to change the contact email address. This routine administrative update caused the document to appear on the CAA website as if it were newly issued.

Keep ReadingShow less