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Contents

1. Adoption Panel Purpose and Function 
2. Adoption Panel Membership 
3. Adoption Panel Meetings 
4. Adoption Panel Minutes 
5. Reports to Adoption Panel 

1. Adoption Panel Purpose and Function

1.1 Adoption Functions 

The Adoption Panel is responsible for overseeing the running of the local authority’s adoption service and receives annual reports and three-yearly reviews on the service and its performance. 

In doing so it has an overriding responsibility to promote good practice, consistency of approach and fairness in all aspects of the adoption service.

As part of this function, the Panel makes recommendations as to the following:

1. the suitability of prospective adoptive applicants to adopt
2. whether a child should be placed for adoption
3. whether a child should be placed for adoption with particular prospective adopters

The recommendations must be unconditional and cannot be ‘in principle’.

The Adoption Panel may also advise on the following issues:

1. Where prospective adoptive parents are recommended as suitable to adopt, the number of children the adoptive parents may be suitable to adopt, as well as their age range, gender, likely needs and background;
2. Where it is recommended that a child should be placed for adoption, what the contact arrangements for the child should be and whether a Placement Order should be applied for;
3. Where it is recommended that a child should be placed with particular prospective adopters, the proposed adoption support, future contact arrangements and whether/how the exercise of Parental Responsibility by birth parents and/or prospective adopters should be restricted;
4. Following Reviews of Adoption Support Plans, whether the plan should be varied or terminated.

The Adoption Panel monitors the progress of individual children for whom adoption is the plan up to the making of an Adoption Order, through progress reports as required under the Placement for Adoption Procedure, and receives Disruption Reports in relation to any breakdowns in adoptive placements (see Disruption of Placement Procedure).

If circumstances arise necessitating a change in plans in respect of a child, which have previously been agreed by Panel, it is obligatory to make a further application to Panel for any variation.

The Adoption Panel considers the prospective adoption of children who are under 12 years old. Permanence Plans including Special Guardianship Order and children over 12 years old are considered at the Fostering Panel.

The annual review of adopters suitability to adopt is presented to panel for information.

2. Adoption Panel Membership

The Adoption Panel has a maximum of 10 members; they are appointed by Adoption Panel - Team Manager.

The membership must include two social workers with at least 3 years’ relevant post-qualification experience in child care social work, including direct experience of adoption, one elected member of the Council (if possible with responsibility for children’s services or from the corporate parenting group), the Panel’s Medical Adviser, and at least three independent members, two of whom should have personal experience of adoption, for example as an adoptive parent, an adopted person or a birth parent. 

The Panel membership should be gender balanced and reflect the composition of the community served by the agency.

The Agency Decision Maker (Adoption and Fostering) on adoption matters must not be a member of the Panel.

The quorum is 5, one of whom must be the Chair or Vice Chair, one of the social worker representatives and at least 1 independent member.

 2.1 The Panel Chair and Vice Chair

The Chair must be an independent member, and is appointed by Adoption Panel - Team Manager.

The Panel must also have a Vice Chair (not necessarily an independent member), who is also appointed by Adoption Panel - Team Manager

The Panel Chair should have knowledge and experience of the area of adoption, be familiar with the regulatory framework of the Adoption Service and be able to analyse the discussion and summarise the views expressed.

2.2  Appointments to Panel

Panel members are appointed by Adoption Panel - Team Manager usually for periods of 3 years.  Panel members can be appointed for consecutive term of 3 years but no member (other than the Medical Adviser) may serve more than 3 consecutive terms,

Panel members will be expected to attend induction training (which should include attending a meeting as an observer) and thereafter at least one Panel training day per year.

New appointees will be asked to give signed agreement to checks being undertaken through the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) and cannot take up their appointment until the outcome of the checks are known.  They are excluded from Panel membership if they have any offences against children or of violence. They are required to notify the Panel Adviser immediately if they receive such a conviction or caution while serving as a Panel member.  Criminal Records Bureau checks will be renewed every three years.

Written information about the expectations arising from their appointment should be given to new members (in relation to attendance at and participation in meetings, confidentiality and their general conduct - see paragraph 2.3, paragraph 2.4 and paragraph 2.5) and they should be asked to sign a written agreement confirming their acceptance of these before taking up their appointment.

2.3 Attendance at Panel

Appointed Panel members are expected to make every effort to attend Panel meetings.

If Panel members are unable to attend, they should inform the Panel Administrator as soon as possible, to ensure the Panel is quorate.

Failure to attend 3 consecutive Panel meetings or less than 75% of Panel meetings in one year, for other than medical reasons, may result in the member’s appointment being withdrawn.

2.4  Confidentiality

All written and verbal information given to Panel members in the course of their duties is strictly confidential.  Panel members are required to sign a written agreement, before taking up their appointment, to confirm that all information they receive will remain confidential. 

Panel members are expected to keep all written information in a secure place and return all Panel documents to the agency immediately after each Panel meeting.

Panel members must not copy, in part or in whole, any documents that relate to a case.

If a Panel member has some knowledge of a case, whether in a personal or professional capacity, they should declare an interest and inform the Chair of the Panel. This should be done at the earliest opportunity, to ensure the Panel is quorate (see Section 2.6 below).

Failure to comply with the above paragraphs may result in the member’s appointment being withdrawn.

2.5  General Conduct

Panel members should be committed to anti-discriminatory practice and should be prepared to consider each case on its own merits.

Panel members should have read the Panel papers carefully prior to the Panel meeting and come prepared to contribute to the Panel discussion.

The Panel Adviser will review each Panel member’s performance regularly

The Panel Adviser, in consultation with the Chair, will review each member’s performance on a more formal basis at least annually.

If there are concerns about the conduct or behaviour of a Panel member, this should be conveyed to the Panel Chair who will raise these concerns with the member in private.

If concerns about a Panel member’s conduct or behaviour cannot be resolved informally, the Chair, in consultation with the Panel Adviser, will write to the member concerned setting out the concerns and what action it is proposed to take.  See Section 2.8 for action that may be taken if the concerns continue.

The Chair’s performance will be reviewed annually by the Agency Decision Maker (Adoption and Fostering), taking into account the views of Panel members and those who attend Panel meetings, for example social workers and prospective adopters.

2.6 Conflicts of Interest

Panel members should consider any conflicts of interest in relation to Panel agenda items. A potential conflict arises if an interest may be seen to adversely affect a Panel member’s capacity to act without prejudice or preference in a matter.

It is anticipated that in many circumstances there may be professional knowledge of a case which should be notified to the Chair but which will not affect a member’s capacity to participate in the Panel.  In other circumstances there may be a personal interest or connection which would require the Panel member to refrain from participation.  In cases where it is less clear, advice should be sought.

In the case of a potential conflict of interest where advice is required, Panel members should consult the Chair, Panel Adviser or Legal Adviser, giving as much advance notice as possible, particularly having regard to the implications for the quorum.

2.7  Resignations from the Panel

Panel members are expected to give a minimum of one month’s written notice, except where personal emergencies e.g. accidents, illness, make this impossible. Resignation letters should be addressed to Adoption Panel - Team Manager, with a copy to the Chair of the Panel.

Initial verbal resignations may be given, but only at the close of Panel business and should always be followed by a written resignation.  Panel members are asked, as a matter of courtesy, to inform the Chair of the Panel of their intention to resign, before making any public announcement.

Panel members wishing to withdraw a submitted written resignation must do so before the one month notice period expires by writing to Adoption Panel - Team Manager, who reserves the right not to accept a withdrawal of notice and to allow the original letter of resignation to stand.

2.8  Termination of Appointment of Panel Members

Where there are concerns about a Panel member’s behaviour either inside or outside the meetings, and the difficulties have not been resolved by discussion and correspondence between the Chair, Panel Adviser and the member concerned, the matter will be raised by the Panel Adviser with the Adoption Panel - Team Manager, who will decide whether to propose the end of the appointment and if so, will advise the Panel member in writing giving clear reasons for the proposal. 

The Panel member will be given the opportunity to make observations on the matter before a final decision is made by Adoption Panel - Team Manager.

3. Adoption Panel Meetings

The Adoption Panel meets once every four weeks.  The Professional Adviser will arrange additional special meetings as necessary, with the Chair’s authority, where for example there is a need to consider an urgent placement.

The venue is usually the Wigmore  Hall, Luton.

The Professional Adviser, who must be a senior practitioner or manager in the adoption service with at least 5 years’ relevant post-qualification and management experience, attends all Panel meetings to advise the Panel but is not a member of the Panel.  His or her role is to ensure all the necessary reports are available for the Panel, to advise Panel on social work and procedural matters and to report to social workers and their managers on issues arising from Panel meetings. 

Where the Panel is considering a matter relating to an inter country adoption, the Professional Adviser must arrange to provide specialist advice and any relevant information required. Luton contracts Inter country work to Parents and Children Together .

The Professional Adviser’s role is also to assist with appointments to the Panel, to arrange induction and other training for members, monitor and review their performance and monitor and review the administration of the Panel.

The Panel Administrator, in consultation with the Professional Adviser, will prepare the agenda for each meeting. The agenda and Panel papers should be sent to members one week before the meeting. 

The Panel’s legal adviser attends all Panel meetings, but is not a Panel member.

No more than one person would normally be allowed to observe a Panel meeting and this is only with the prior agreement of the Adoption Adviser and Panel Chair.  The observer will be required to sign a form of undertaking regarding confidentiality

The agenda will include at the beginning an opportunity for any Panel member to declare an interest in any item on the agenda.  If an interest is declared, the Chair must then decide whether the Panel member should withdraw during consideration of the item.

In the event of a disagreement between Panel members, the Chair will consider whether further information is required or whether the Panel should go ahead and make a recommendation on the basis of the majority view.  In this event, any dissenting view should be fully recorded in the minutes.

Social workers presenting reports to the Panel must send  copies of their report to the Panel Administrator 21 working days before the date of the Panel meeting.  One copy of the report should be anonymised for use in family finding. 

Where the adoption panel requests other relevant information the  agency is required to obtain it, as far as is reasonably practical, and that this it is sent to panel. In such instances a case may be deferred until the information is available.

At the end of each Panel meeting, the Panel Administrator will collect all members’ papers.  Panel members unable to attend a meeting will be asked to return his or her papers to the Panel administrator. 

4. Adoption Panel Minutes

The Panel minutes will always record the information in relation to the following:

1. The reports received.  (The Panel’s requirements as to reports are specified in the relevant procedures elsewhere in the Manual; see Placement for Adoption Procedure and Assessment and Approval of Adoptive Parents Procedure).
2. Who attended and for which part of the discussion
3. Medical advice
4. Legal advice
5. The Panel’s discussions (main points) and conclusions
6. The Panel’s recommendations and reasons, including any reservations expressed by any member.

The Panel minutes will be written in accordance with the agreed format and kept on every child’s or prospective adopter’s Adoption Case Record. 

The draft Panel minutes will be approved by the Panel Adviser and the Chair. They will then be sent to the Agency Decision Maker (Adoption and Fostering), together with the reports considered by the Panel when the recommendation was made, so that the Agency Decision Maker (Adoption and Fostering) can meet the timescales for making the decision as set out in the relevant procedures.

5. Reports to Adoption Panel

Reports to the Adoption Panel in relation to matters upon which the Panel are asked to make recommendations must be prepared by qualified social workers with at least 3 years’ post-qualification experience.  This must include direct experience of adoption work either in assessing prospective adoptive parents or implementing an adoption plan for a Looked After Child.  Where the author of the report does not have the requisite qualifications and experience, he or she must have either a qualification in social work or be a social worker in training, and must be supervised by a qualified social worker with 3 years’ relevant experience. 

Where the person preparing the report is an independent social worker, they must always be suitably qualified and experienced and be supervised by a member of staff with the suitable qualifications and experience.

The same qualifications and experience are required for social workers undertaking visits to children placed for adoption - see Monitoring and Supervision of Adoptive Placements Procedure - and authors of Court Reports in adoption cases - see Court Reports in Adoption Procedure.

End