The number of applications made by same-sex couples to adopt children has risen by more than 50 per cent in the last decade, new figures reveal.
Ministry of Justice (MoJ) statistics show that 675 applications were made by same-sex couples last year, which is an increase from 425 in 2013 and bucks the trend across other groups.
In heterosexual couples, applications are down almost 50 per cent, from 4,656 in 2013 to 2,372 in 2023, while those from step-parents are down from 433 to 408.
Sole applicants or single parents have also seen a fall, from 963 to 794, in the last decade, while overall the number of applications is down 35 per cent from 6,549 to 4,279.
Katie Welton-Dillon, from Hall Brown Family Law, suggested that this demonstrated the eagerness of same-sex couples to have their own families.
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She said: “The last decade has seen a substantial drop in adoptions taking place in England and Wales each year. Since 2014, though, marriages between individuals of the same sex have been possible and we have seen an increasing number of such couples keen to explore all options to start a family.
“Some couples choose to do so either by surrogacy, capitalising on advances in medical science or adopting from abroad. Others recognise the advantages of providing a home for children already within the care system in this country.”
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Barnardo’s said that the number of LGBT couples adopting was increasing year on year in the UK. In 2022, twice as many adoptions were by same-sex couples compared to 2021.
Same-sex couples in the UK, excluding Scotland, have had the right to adopt since 2002, after the Adoption and Children Act was passed. It came into force in December 2005.
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In Scotland, the Adoption and Children (Scotland) Act 2007 received royal assent in January 2007, enabling same-sex couples to jointly adopt children.
In 2016, almost ten per cent of all adoptions in England involved same-sex couples. This had risen to 12 per cent by 2018. By 2023, one in five adoptions in the UK were to same-sex couples.
Research has shown that same-sex families are thriving — scoring particularly well in assessments of family relationships, parental wellbeing and child adjustment.
The MoJ figures show orders on adoption to heterosexual parents, between 2013 and 2023, were down 46 per cent, while orders to sole parents were down by eight per cent. But same-sex parents bucked the trend, up 71 per cent from 388 to 665.
Overall, the number of adoption orders is down 32 per cent, from 6,071 to 4,166.
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The figures also show an increase in the adoption of older children. The 15-17 age group accounted for 211 adoptions last year, up 52 per cent on 2013.
In 2013, 3,084 out of 6,071 adopted children were girls, whereas in 2023 more boys than girls found new families, with 2,137 being adopted compared to 2,029.
Welton-Dillon added: “The proportion of older children being adopted is another positive element of these statistics.
“Although many individuals regard young children as being especially vulnerable, teenagers also undoubtedly derive considerable benefit from parental support as they prepare for adulthood.”
Charities had blamed the adoption figure drop on judges who in 2013 ruled that adoption should only be considered “when nothing else will do”.
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Michael Gove, who was adopted as a child, led a campaign to boost the number of youngsters in care finding permanent families when he was the education secretary.
