Concern about the cuts in funding to the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund
The Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund (ASGSF) provides a vital level of support to some of our most vulnerable children. Having therapeutic input that would not ordinarily be accessible makes a significant difference to many adopted children and children in kinship care.
The delay and uncertainty about ASGSF funding earlier in the year caused widespread concern and anxiety. Applications for therapy paused, and there were delays in children receiving vital therapeutic support while we waited for the funding to be announced. We welcomed the £50 million funding that was announced on 1 April for the ASGSF for 2025/26. While this announcement took longer than hoped, it was a relief that funding was available, albeit only for one year. The significant reductions to the funding available for children and families subsequently announced will have far reaching and long-term impacts on some of our most vulnerable children and their families.
This now means that the Fair Access Limit has been reduced by 40% to £3,000, match funding for therapy above this amount has ended, and specialist assessments have been capped at £2,500, alongside other changes. Sadly, these changes will directly impact our children and result in less support for them and their families. These changes have been introduced without consultation with the sector.
We are aware of how this uncertainty has been worrying for adopters and kinship carers who are doing their absolute best to support and seek support for vulnerable children who have experienced significant trauma and loss. We are also aware of how upsetting this has been for many practitioners and that our members are worried about these changes.
Disappointingly families are now left with less funding available for therapy and assessments. In addition, the lack of clarity about the future funding of the ASGSF, as funding is only approved until March 2026, is also worrying. It is conceivable that some therapies will be unable to start due to lack of ongoing financial commitment and time available before the end of this financial year. It also prevents applications for 12 months of therapy beyond March 2026.
We are urging the Government to make a decision about the future of the ASGSF as soon as possible to prevent the uncertainty that we experienced earlier this year from happening again. CoramBAAF is supporting a number of different activities to highlight the importance of the ASGSF. Coram’s CEO, Dr Carol Homden, recently sent an open letter in conjunction with CVAA, Adoption UK, and Kinship to the Secretary of State for Education, which you can read here.
We are working with partners to highlight how important the ASGSF is and to urge the Government to reconsider the cuts it has made for therapy. We are calling for a more sustainable and well-funded long-term plan to ensure that our most vulnerable children are able to get the support they need when they need it. We also want the government to urgently convene sector organisations and adoptive and kinship families; to work together with them to establish a plan for the future of the ASGSF beyond this year and to address and mitigate the immediate challenges families are facing due to the cuts.
We joined adopters and kinship carers along with Adoption UK, Kinship and Family Rights Group in Parliament on Monday 19 May to highlight our concerns directly to MPs. A Westminster Hall debate was held the following day about Government support for children in adoptive and kinship placements. Over 25 MPs attended, raising concerns about the fund and other areas of support - you can read a transcript of the debate here.
We also understand that the government is planning to test devolving some of the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund to regional adoption agencies (RAAs).
We will continue to keep our members updated about this.
If you are concerned about the ASGSF and want to find out more about what is happening, here are links to other organisations and campaigns:
James Bury, Head of Policy, Research, and Development, CoramBAAF.