CVAA calls for independent public consultation on the ASGSF in collaboration with sector organisations

CVAA and Adoption UK, with support from Kinship, Barnardo’s, Coram and CoramBAAF have published this scoping paper to inform the government’s upcoming ‘public engagement in the new year’, a commitment made during the Westminster Hall debate on 4^th September 2025 and reconfirmed recently.

The purpose of this paper is to inform the Department’s planning for the upcoming public consultation, and ensure that:

1. It is a comprehensive consultation which gathers views from children, families, professionals, and wider stakeholders on the future of the ASGSF, with a focus on children’s therapeutic needs as well as seeking views on clearly defined options for future reform.
2. No decisions are taken about future reform before the consultation exercise has been completed, meaning that any future reform should begin no earlier than 2028 to allow time to learn from the consultation and the current RAA pilots.
3. In the meantime, there is a reinstatement of the former ASGSF funding limits – uplifted to account for inflation – or a commitment for the Fund to meet whatever therapeutic needs are identified in an assessment, carried out by a suitably qualified clinician.

The paper takes into consideration the devastating impact of cuts to specialist therapeutic funding made earlier in 2025 and the evidenced need to provide this vital support for adoptees, those in kinship care and their families.

It has been shared with the Children’s Minister and his team, who we look forward to working with in the new year to ensure the consultation is meaningful and genuinely learnt from to positively reshape how support is given to adoptive and kinship families.

Read the scoping paper here.