Should Adoptive Siblings Be Separated For Their Own Benefit?

Brothers and sisters facing adoption should in some cases be split up for their own benefit, the government's adoption adviser has said.

Martin Narey said the presumption that siblings are kept together can sometimes "disadvantage children". There are too few adopters willing to take brothers and sisters together, he said.


He also warned that keeping siblings together may not always be in the interests of individual children. Current legal guidance to local authorities says siblings should be placed for adoption together unless there was good reason for them not to be.

Mr Narey said the law should be changed, so that "the case for placing siblings together should be considered on the needs of each individual child."

Mr Narey gave several examples of the negative consequences of keeping children from dysfunctional families together.

You can read more about this story on the BBC News website here.