BAAF collapse: Labour calls for answers from Timpson

Last Friday BAAF announced it was closing with immediate effect due to "significant changes and prevailing economic conditions", with many of the organisation's functions transferring to children's charity Coram.

This included a number of government contracts such as the National Adoption Register and the Independent Review Mechanism – which reviews the suitability of prospective adopters or foster parents.

BAAF's accounts for 2013/14 show that during that financial year the organisation received £634,000 from the Department for Education to run the National Adoption Register for England and Wales, and a further £608,000 to run the Independent Review Mechanism in England.

Coram has confirmed that discussions over the transfer of some of BAAF’s functions had been ongoing for around three weeks prior to last Friday’s announcement and confirmed that the DfE had been involved in the talks.

Labour’s shadow children’s minister Steve McCabe told CYP Now that he has written to Edward Timpson calling for an explanation of the circumstances in which the contracts were transferred.

“I don’t know that you can just hand over contracts like that,” he said.

“I thought there had to be some kind of process.

“I can understand that if an organisation is about to go into administration and the whole thing is about to fall apart, decisions can be made in a bit of a hurry.

“But I understand the National Adoption Register is a nationally tendered contract, so I don’t know the technicalities of how it can be handed over.”

Concerns about the transfer of contracts from BAAF to Coram have also been raised within the sector.

Andy Elvin, chief executive of fostering and adoption charity The Adolescent and Children's Trust (Tact) said BAAF had won a number of contracts from the DfE due to its independent status, adding that they have now been transferred “without any competitive process to another adoption provider”.

“One might argue that Adoption Link (which works on behalf of local authorities to match children with registered adopters) might have been well placed to run the National Adoption Register,” he said.

“It should have been put to competitive tender.”

Elvin added that a wider range of organisations from the sector should have been privy to the talks conducted prior to BAAF’s closure.

“I think it’s unfortunate that given the number of job losses that more people in the voluntary adoption agency sector haven’t been involved in the discussions,” he said.

“There are many members of BAAF and other organisations who have not been given the opportunity to try and save a service that is valuable to us all.”

Yesterday, Andy Leary-May, chief executive of Adoption Link, said there could be a conflict of interest in the fact that Coram, which provides services as a voluntary adoption agency, is now responsible for running the Independent Review Mechanism, which reviews the suitability of prospective adopters.

A spokeswoman for Coram said both the National Adoption Register and the Independent Review Mechanism are being run by independent organisations.

"The Independent Review Mechanism for England is being run as a separate entity by Coram Children's Legal Centre (CCLC).

"CCLC is an independent registered charity accountable to its board of trustees.

"The National Adoption Register for England is being managed independently by First4Adoption independent of any voluntary adoption agency.
 
"Coram has the experience of running First4Adoption successfully and independently without conflict of interests – something acknowledged by the sector."

A DfE spokeswoman said the contract for the National Adoption Register will be retendered for the financial year 2016/17.

“The contract for the adoption register has transferred to the Coram group to ensure this vital service continues – and to avoid any delays in matching children already on the register with loving families,” she said.