I am today announcing that the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund (ASGSF) will be extended until March 2028 (the end of the current Spending Review period) and that the Budget will be increased by 10% to £55m for 2026/27. I recognise the importance of setting out a holistic, evidence-based vision for long-term adoption support. That is why I am also launching a consultation on the future reform of adoption and kinship support, including the ASGSF.

This work builds on significant reform across children’s social care already underway that benefits adopted and kinship children and their families. These include the £2.4 billion Families First Partnership programme over the next three years – funding that is equally available to adoptive and kinship families – and wider reforms to children’s social care and mental health services that aim to improve early intervention and strengthen joint working across systems.

This statement outlines the context for that consultation, together with the funding we are providing while it is underway.

The current system

Many adopted and kinship children thrive thanks to the love and care they receive, and a great number do so without any additional support. However, when additional need occurs, because of those difficult childhood experiences, help is often fragmented across services and access to support varies significantly between local areas. For too long support for adoptive and kinship families has been inconsistent, difficult to navigate, and not always aligned with the evidence on what delivers the best outcomes for children.

We know that children’s needs change over time, yet current arrangements do not always provide timely, coordinated help at key stages. We also know when children are most likely to present additional needs – namely, when transitioning to secondary school and when entering adolescence. These challenges underline the need for a more coherent, sustainable, and evidence-based framework for adoption and kinship support – one that ensures families receive the right support, at the right time, wherever they live.

Innovation and improving our understanding of what works

Where we think there is a strong case for intervention now, we must make changes to improve support offered to children as soon as possible. That is why from Summer 2026, we will introduce a new parent support offer, delivered through Adoption England, for adoptive parents and special guardians whose children are entering secondary school.

This programme will provide practical support while laying the groundwork for wider systemic reform to adoption and special guardianship support. It addresses the well-evidenced challenges children face during the transition from Year 6 to Year 7, and will include universal, targeted and peer-led help.

The aim is to provide early support to provide consistent support to strengthen families, and prevent escalation into absence, exclusion or placement strain. This forms the initial step in a broader, long-term model of support. Further information will be available in due course.

In 2026/27, we will invest to strengthen Regional Adoption Agency Multidisciplinary Teams. Regional Adoption Agencies will strengthen Multidisciplinary Teams in 2026/27 to provide coordinated, holistic support for adopted children and families. Bringing social care, health, and education professionals together will streamline decisions and ensure timely, evidence-based help.

Additionally, the Department of Health and Social Care has launched a three-year pilot to enhance mental health support for children in care and their families. The Department for Education will collaborate to ensure adoptive families are included, starting with one geographic area. This pilot will test a fully integrated mental health support model to ensure children and families receive coordinated, accessible help when and where it is needed most.

Consultation

The Adoption Support that Works for All consultation will run for 12 weeks and is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/adoption-support-that-works-for-all. The consultation sets out a bold and ambitious vision for adoption and (eligible) kinship support. Rather than continuing with a predominantly reactive and centrally administered fund, we propose moving towards a more integrated, evidence-based, and locally led system. This model would place stronger emphasis on early help, consistent and holistic needs assessments, support at key stages, and closer integration between children’s social care, health services, and education.

Taken together, these initiatives deliver practical, immediate action, while laying the foundations for wider systemic reform within a new model of adoption and special guardianship support that prioritises early help and evidence-based intervention.

As we take forward this work, our ambition is clear: every adopted and eligible kinship child should receive the right support at the right time, delivered through a system that is coherent, compassionate and responsive to their needs. The voices of families and experts will be central in shaping this future. I urge all those with experience and expertise to respond to the consultation and help us build a stronger, more integrated support system – one that gives every child the stability, opportunity and security they deserve.

I will deposit a copy of the consultation document and Equalities Impact Assessment in the Libraries of both Houses.

https://www.theyworkforyou.com/wms/?id=2026-02-10.hcws1320.0