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Contents

1. Adoption Panel Purpose and Function
2. Adoption Panel Membership
3. Adoption Panel Meetings
4. Adoption Panel Minutes
5. The Independent Review Mechanism
6. Liaison Officer
7. Reports to Adoption Panel

1. Adoption Panel Purpose and Function

The Adoption Panel contributes to the running and quality assurance of the local authority's adoption service and receives annual reports 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, in accordance with its procedures and values.

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 is suitable to 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, sex, likely needs and background, and, in the case of inter country adopters, the country from which they are suitable to adopt;
2. Where it is recommended that a child is suitable to 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 or how the exercise of Parental Responsibility by birth parents and/or prospective adopters should be restricted.

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 Adoptive Placement Procedure).

2. Adoption Panel Membership

There are three adoption panels in Leeds. Members are appointed to a specific panel, but their names are included in the Central List and on occasions may be required to sit on an alternative panel. Each panel aims to have a maximum of 10 members; they are appointed by the agency and to a Central List from which each adoption panel draws their membership. Panel Members will be appointed to a specific panel in order to provide consistency. However on occasions and where appropriate a panel member may sit on an alternative panel. E.g. To assist with quoracy or court timetables, to prevent delay for children and to provide particular expertise.

The membership will include an independent chair and one vice chair, two social workers with at least three years' relevant post-qualification experience in child care social work, including direct experience of adoption, one elected member of the city (if possible with responsibility for children's services or from the corporate parenting group), the Panel's Medical Adviser, an education representative 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 Chair must be an independent member, and is appointed by the agency decision maker (adoption).

The Agency Decision Maker on adoption matters must not be a member of the Panel. Agency Decision Making will be undertaken by a Head of Service or the Chief Officer.

The quorum is five, one of whom must be the Chair or Vice Chair, one of the social worker representatives and at least one independent member. This may be the Chair, but where the Vice Chair has to chair the meeting and is not an independent member an additional independent member will be required.

2.1 Appointments to Panel

Panel members are appointed by the Agency and there is no fixed period of office. However panel members, including the chair will be encouraged to offer a commitment for at least three years. 

Panel members will be expected to attend induction training and thereafter at least one panel training day per year. They will also be offered other relevant training as appropriate.

New appointees will be asked to give signed agreement to enhanced 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.

Written information about the expectations arising from their appointment should be given to new members (in relation to performance objectives, including attendance at meetings, confidentiality and their general conduct - see Paragraphs 2.2 to 2.4) and they should be asked to sign a written agreement confirming their acceptance of these before taking up their appointment.

2.2 Attendance at Panel

Appointed Panel Members are expected to make every effort to attend Panel meetings and this agency’s expectation is that panel members attend 75% of the panel’s in anyone year.

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

2.3 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. Any panel papers, which are e-mailed externally, must be password protected.

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 2.5 below).

Failure to comply with the above Paragraphs may result in the member's appointment being withdrawn.

2.4 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 Chair, in consultation with the Panel Advisor, will review each member's performance on a formal basis at least annually against agreed performance objectives.

If there are concerns about the conduct or behaviour of a Panel member, this should be conveyed to the 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 2.7 below for action that may be taken if the concerns continue. This may result in termination of their membership to the panel.

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

2.5 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. It may be less clear in some cases when 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.

2.6 Resignations from the Adoption 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 the Agency with a copy to the Chair of the Panel.

The panel chair will be expected to give three months written notice and the agency will give the same length of notice if it wishes to terminate the appointment.

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 the Agency Decision Maker who reserves the right not to accept a withdrawal of notice and to allow the original letter of resignation to stand.

2.7 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 Agency Decision Maker, 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 the Agency Decision Maker.

3. Adoption Panel Meetings

There are three adoption panels, which meet monthly and at other times when required. The Panel Adviser will ask the Panel Administrator to arrange additional special meetings as necessary, with the Chair's authority, where for example there is a need to consider an urgent placement and/or the Court timetable requires it.

The Panel Administrator will prepare and circulate an annual list of Adoption Panel dates and deadlines in advance of the designated start of the Panel's year.

The Panel Adviser, who must be a senior practitioner or manager in the adoption service with at least five 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 Panel Adviser must arrange to provide specialist advice and any relevant information required.

The Panel Adviser's role is also to assist with appointments to the Panel including initiating enhanced CRB checks and to arrange induction and other training for members, monitor and review their performance and monitor and review the administration of the Panel. The advisor should maintain an overview of the quality of the agency’s reports to the panel and liaise with team managers to quality assure the child’s permanence report, the prospective adopter’s reports and the adoption placement report.

The Panel Administrator, in consultation with the Panel Adviser, will prepare the agenda for each meeting. The agenda and Panel papers should be sent to members at least two weeks before the meeting.

The Panel's Legal Adviser attends all panel meetings where ever possible, but is not a Panel Member. Legal advice must be available by telephone where there is no legal advisor present at panel.

The agenda will include at the beginning an opportunity for any Panel Member to declare an interest in any item on the agenda (see 2.5 above). 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. The chair has the casting vote. In this event, any dissenting view should be fully recorded in the minutes.

Social workers presenting reports to the Panel must send their report and any supporting documentation required (as specified in the relevant procedures elsewhere in the Manual; see Placement for Adoption Procedure and Assessment and Approval of Adoptive Parents) to the Panel Administrator at least 15 working days before the date of the Panel meeting. 

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 their 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;
7. Any advice given by the Panel.

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

In reaching a decision the decision maker will need to consider the following before making a considered and professional decision:

• The exercise of powers under section one of the Act;
• All the information surrounding the case including the reports submitted to the adoption panel;
• That the author(s) of the reports comply with the Adoption Report Regulations 2005 (ARRs);
• The stability and permanence of the relationship of any couple under consideration (regulation 4 of the Suitability of Adopters Regulations 2005);
• The recommendation and reasons of the adoption panel and the independent review panel;
• The final minutes of the adoption panel including any minutes from adjourned panel meetings and the independent review panel.

Draft panel minutes will be sent for checking to all panel members, the panel advisor and professionals presenting cases to the panel.

The Panel minutes will be approved by the Chair and sent to the Agency Decision Maker, together with the reports considered by the Adoption Panel when the recommendation was made, or the independent review panel, so that the Agency Decision Maker can make a decision within seven working days of receipt of the final minutes.

The child’s parents or guardian and prospective adopter should be informed orally of the agency’s decision within two working days and written confirmation should be sent to them within five working days. Where the case had been reviewed by the Independent review panel, a copy of the decision must be sent to the contract manager of the Independent Review Mechanism.

Where the decision maker is minded not to accept the recommendation of the adoption panel or independent review panel, the decision maker should discuss the case with another senior person in the agency who is not a member of the adoption panel or independent review panel. The outcome of that discussion, as well as the decision itself and its reasons must be recorded on the prospective adopter’s case record and, in respect of a placement case, the child’s case record too.

5. The Independent Review Mechanism

The independent review mechanism (IRM) is a review process that can be used when an adoption agency has made a qualifying determination. The Independent Review of Determinations (Adoption and Fostering) Regulations 2009 and the AIR define Qualifying Determinations as:

• A qualifying determination made under AAR 27.4 is a determination made by the agency’s decision maker when they do not propose to approve the prospective adopter as suitable to adopt a child.  A qualifying determination may be given in respect of an application to adopt a child from the UK or from outside the British Islands after either a brief or full prospective adopter’s report has been prepared and considered by the adoption panel and agency or where the agency decides to change an earlier decision to approve the prospective adopter and that too has been considered by the adoption panel and the agency;
• A qualifying determination made under AIR 15.1 is a determination made by the appropriate adoption agency’s decision maker in relation to an application under section 61 of the Act:
  1. Not to proceed with an application from any person for disclosure of protected information;
  2. To disclose information against the express views of the person the information is about;
  3. Or, not to disclose information about a person to the applicant where that person has expressed the view that the information should be disclosed.

A review panel whose members are independent of agencies conduct the review process.

6. Liaison Officer

The SDM (Adoption) will act as the liaison officer and main contact between the agency and the IRM.  The liaison officer sends to the IRM administrator all the appropriate documentation and ensures the case is referred to the agency’s decision maker after the IRM has made its recommendation.  The liaison officer must ensure swift action is taken on requests made by the review panel, for example a request for a specialist medical report and give the IRM notification of the agency’s decision.

7. 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 three 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 three 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/Special Guardianship Guidance.

End