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Contents

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

1. Adoption and Permanence Panel Purpose and Function

The Adoption and Permanence 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 (see Adoption Values and Principles).

Recommendations

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’.

Timescales

The Adoption and Permanence Panel makes recommendations on the suitability of prospective adopters to adopt within eight months of receipt of their formal application.

The Adoption and Permanence Panel makes recommendations on whether a child is suitable to be placed for adoption within two months of the Looked After Review where adoption was identified as the child’s identified Permanence Plan.

The Adoption and Permanence Panel makes recommendations on the proposed placement of a child with particular prospective adopters within six months of the Agency Decision Maker’s decision that the child is suitable to be placed for adoption.

Where the timescales are not met, the Adoption and Permanence Panel should record the reasons.

Advice

The Adoption and Permanence 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; in relation to inter country adopters the advice may also relate to the named country of origin of the child;
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.

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.

Monitoring

The Adoption and Permanence 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 Agency Adoptive Placements Procedure).

2. Adoption and Permanence Panel Membership

There is no fixed Panel membership or maximum number of members or maximum tenure of office.

A Central List needs to be maintained containing a list of persons considered to be suitable to be members of the Adoption and Permanence Panel.

When setting up an Adoption and Permanence Panel meeting, members will be drawn from this Central List.

The same people do not have to be appointed to every Panel meeting.

The Central List should include (in addition to the Independent Chair):

• Adoption social workers with at least 3 years’ relevant post qualifying experience in child care social work, including direct experience in adoption work (not necessarily employed by the agency);
• The Medical Adviser/s; 
• Other persons whom the agency considers suitable including specialists in education; race and culture; child and adolescent mental health services; and those with personal experience of adoption.

The Chair must be independent of the adoption agency, and is appointed by the Agency Decision Maker.

The Panel must also have one, and can have two, Vice Chairs (who are not necessarily independent members), who are also appointed by the Designated Manager (Adoption Panel Appointments).

The Agency Decision Maker on adoption matters must not be included on the Central List.

The agency should decide how many people should sit at each Adoption Panel meeting, provided that there is a quorum of 5, one of whom must be the Chair or Vice Chair, one of the adoption social worker representatives and at least one independent member.

2.1 Appointments to the Central List

Those on the Central List are appointed by the Designated Manager (Adoption and Permanence Panel Appointments).

All those on the Central List should have undergone a recruitment process that includes interviews, identity checks, verification of qualifications and right to work in the UK, references and CRB checks, which are recorded.

New appointees will be asked to give signed agreement to checks being undertaken as above 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 on the Central List

They should have the opportunity to observe an Adoption and Permanence Panel meeting before they sit as a member and to attend an annual joint training day with adoption agency staff; have induction training completed within 10 weeks of inclusion on the list and access to appropriate training and skills development and are kept abreast of changes to legislation, regulation and guidance.

They should also have access to the agency’s whistle-blowing policy.

Written information about the expectations arising from their appointment should be given to new  appointees to the Central List (in relation to their performance objectives, participation in induction and other training, safeguarding the confidentiality of information provided to the Panel and their general conduct - see Section 2.2, Confidentiality and Section 2.3 General Conduct) and they should be asked to sign a written agreement confirming their acceptance of these before taking up their appointment.

2.2 Confidentiality

All written and verbal information given to Panel members in the course of their duties is strictly confidential. As indicated above, those included on the Central List are required to sign a written agreement, before  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  at the earliest opportunity, so that an alternative member can be invited if required to ensure that the Panel is quorate (see Section 2.4 Conflicts of Interest).

Failure to comply with the above paragraphs may result in the member's inclusion on the Central List being terminated.

2.3 General Conduct

All those on the Central List  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 the performance of those on the Central List on a regular basis. 

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

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

If such 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 person concerned setting out the concerns and what action it is proposed to take. See Section 2.6 Termination of Appointment to the Central List  for action that may be taken if the concerns continue.

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

2.4 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.

2.5 Resignations from the Central List

All those on the Central List are expected to give a minimum of one month’s written notice of their wish to resign, except where personal emergencies e.g. accidents, illness, make this impossible. Resignation letters should be addressed to Designated Manager (Adoption and Permanence Panel Appointments), with a copy to the Chair of the Panel.

Initial verbal resignations may be given, but  should always be followed by a written resignation.  Those on the Central List 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 Designated Manager (Adoption and Permanence Panel Appointments), who reserves the right not to accept a withdrawal of the notice and to allow the original letter of resignation to stand.

2.6 Termination of Appointment to the Central List

Where it is considered that someone is unsuitable to be on the Central List, they must be given one month’s notice in writing and reasons for the decision to end their appointment.

Where there are concerns about  the behaviour of a person on the Central List either inside or outside Panel meetings, and the difficulties have not been resolved by discussion and correspondence between the Chair, Panel Adviser and the person concerned, the matter will be raised by the Panel Adviser with the Designated Manager (Adoption and Permanence Panel Appointments), who will decide whether to propose the end of the appointment and if so, will advise the person in writing giving clear reasons for the proposal. 

The person concerned will be given the opportunity to make observations on the matter before a final decision is made by the Designated Manager (Adoption and Permanence Panel Appointments).

3. Adoption and Permanence Panel Meetings

The Adoption and Permanence Panel usually meets monthly. The Panel Adviser will ask the Panel Administrator to arrange additional special meetings at short notice as necessary, with the Chair’s authority, where for example there is a need to consider an urgent placement or where the Court timetable requires it.

The Panel Administrator will prepare and circulate an annual list of Adoption and Permanence 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 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 the 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 Central List, to arrange induction and other training for those on the Central List, monitor and review their performance and monitor and review the administration of the Panel.

The Panel Administrator, in consultation with the Panel Adviser, will prepare the agenda for each meeting and draw members from the Central Listto invite to the meeting. The agenda and Panel papers for each meeting should be sent to Panel members at least five working days before the meeting.

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

The agenda will include at the beginning an opportunity for any Panel member to declare an interest in any item on the agenda (see Section 2.4 Conflicts of Interest 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.  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 Procedure) to the Panel Administrator at least 10 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 his or her papers to the Panel administrator. 

4. Adoption and Permanence 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 from time to time and kept on every child’s or prospective adopter’s Adoption Case Record. 

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

5. Reports to Adoption and Permanence Panel

Reports to the Adoption and Permanence 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 of 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