CVAA responds to Government consultation on adoption support

CVAA has long called for a full review of adoption support, including through our July 2025 joint open letter with Adoption UK, Coram, Kinship, Barnardo’s and Family Rights Group. We therefore welcomed the launch of this consultation and the Government’s stated commitment to listening to the sector. The need for reform is indisputable, but we must get this right for children and families.

Our consultation response, available to read here, balances ambition with pragmatism. We recognise the financial constraints facing both central and local government, and the reality that these pressures shape policy decisions across children’s social care. But the evidence is clear: the needs of adopted children are increasingly complex and therefore reform must be structured to meet the needs of these children and young people in particular. For this reason, we have not supported proposals that risk diverting funding away from essential specialist therapeutic support.

“We’re pleased to have had this opportunity to contribute, and now we need the government to truly listen, take stock, and be unafraid to change direction where necessary. Across the sector, the message is consistent and urgent: the current proposals do not go far enough. Adopted children have complex needs which frequently require sustained, specialist therapeutic support alongside core early help for families, and that demands meaningful investment and a coherent model. Research, lived experience and professional expertise all confirm this, and now is the government’s time to respond appropriately.

VAAs know what works for families and that is why our response sets out some core guiding principles such as embedding support early, providing the right help at the right time without delay, prioritising consistent relationships with professionals and committing to a lifelong approach. We therefore stand ready to work with Government to design a system that reflects these principles and delivers for children.”

– Alice Talbot, Director of Strategy and Policy, CVAA

Our response also reiterates CVAA’s strong opposition to a devolved funding model, first set out in summer 2025. We believe devolving funding would undermine equitable access to support, widen existing regional disparities, and risk marginalising the voluntary sector, despite clear evidence of VAAs’ leadership in delivering outstanding as determined through independent inspections by Ofsted), trauma‑informed support.

You can read our full consultation response here.

8^th May 2026