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HALTON Council has joined forces with other North West local authorities to form agencies designed to help place children with families quicker than ever before.

Four of the UK’s first Regional Adoption Agencies have been established in the region.

The borough has joined with neighbouring authorities including Warrington, St Helens, Cheshire West And Chester, and Wigan, as well as Adoption Matters, and Caritas Care in a bid to place children waiting for adoption with a family without delay.

A Department For Education (DFE) spokesman said that research has shown that when placing children for adoption, councils tend to concentrate their efforts on finding parents in their area first, rather than looking further afield for what might be a better match.

Children and families minister Edward Timpson, who grew up with two adopted brothers, said: “Every single day a child in the North West spends waiting in care for their new family is a further delay to a life full of love and stability – and so I’m delighted to announce the region as one of the first Regional Adoption Agencies.

“Where adoption is proven to be in the best interest of the child, we have a duty to make sure they’re matched quickly with the parents right for them – regardless of where they live.

“By coming together and joining forces, councils and adoption agencies across the region will be able to reach across artificial boundaries and access an ever growing pool of approved adopters, creating families quickly and successfully.”

The DFE spokesman added that the new measures could give councils a greater pool of parents to match with children, allow adoption support services more widely available and better targeting the recruitment of adopters.

The Government is also set to provide financial and practical support for councils and adoption agencies to enable them to bring services together regionally.

A spokesman said that as well as the Regional Adoption Agencies being established, £30m will be provided to cover council costs incurred through finding parents beyond geographical boundaries, and removed barriers by ensuring ethnicity is not prioritised over other factors.

He added that the Government has also introduced new rules which require councils to actively consider fostering for adoption places where appropriate, and placed a mandatory requirement on all local authorities to tell prospective adopters about their entitlements, and has also extended pupil premium funding and priority school admissions to ensure adopted children are eligible for extra cash.