Commentary on Sections Adoption Section 3: Repeal of requirement to give due consideration to ethnicity: England
55.This section amends section 1 of the 2002 Act so that subsection (5) does not apply in relation to local authorities in, and registered adoption societies whose principal office is in, England. Section 1(5) of that Act requires adoption agencies to give due consideration to a child’s religious persuasion, racial origin and cultural and linguistic background when placing him or her for adoption.
56.Adoption agencies are required by section 1(2) and (4) of that Act to make a child’s welfare throughout his or her life their paramount consideration, and to have regard to a range of matters, including the child’s needs, wishes and feelings, and his or her background and other relevant characteristics, in reaching a placement decision. These provisions, therefore, mean that the adoption agency is already and will remain under a duty to have regard to the child’s religious persuasion, racial origin and cultural and linguistic background, amongst other factors, where relevant. An adoption agency is also required by section 1(3) of that Act to bear in mind that any delay in coming to a decision is likely to prejudice the child’s welfare.
57.The amendment to subsection (5) is intended to avoid any suggestion that the current legislation places a child’s religious persuasion, racial origin and cultural and linguistic background above the factors in section 1(2) to (4).