22 October 2015

Dear Colleague

Follow-up to Children, Young People and Education Committee’s Inquiry into Adoption Services in Wales

The National Assembly for Wales’ Children, Young People and Education Committee is undertaking follow-up work on our report into adoption services in Wales. We are seeking your views on the progress made since we published the report in November 2012.

Specifically we are seeking your views on:

1. The Welsh Government’s progress in respect of the 16 recommendations and the 25 ‘detailed actions’ set out on pages 5-11 of the Committee's report.

2. In addition, the Committee would also welcome your views on progress in these specific areas:

a. the recruitment, assessment and preparation of adopter parents;

b. the matching process and support for the transition;

c. the information and support for children and young people including access to quality life-story work; and

d. Post-adoption support for children, young people and families (including from social services, education, health and mental health services).

When preparing your response you may wish to consider and/ or refer to:

· the creation and role of the recently established National Adoption Service 

· A Welsh Government update on progress towards the recommendations in the adoption report (July 2015)

[Note: the Committee’s original inquiry related to some aspects of adoption services which are devolved. It did not include non-devolved issues such as those relating to the family justice system and courts.]

Invitation to contribute to the inquiry

The Committee would like to invite you to submit written evidence to assist with the follow-up work.  General information regarding consultation procedures, which should be considered carefully before submitting evidence to the Committee, is set out in Annex 1.

In particular, we would welcome your views on the questions listed on the attached form, which should be used for submitting your evidence.

The Committee intends to seek the views of adopters and children and young people to inform our follow up work. Further details will be published shortly.

If you have any queries, please contact Marc Wyn Jones, Committee Clerk on 0300 200 6565

Yours faithfully

Ann Jones AC / AM
Cadeirydd / Chair

Annex 1

Submitting Written Evidence to the Committee

Disclosure of Information

1.  The Assembly’s policy on disclosure of information is available; please ensure that you have considered these details carefully before submitting information to the Committee. Alternatively a hard copy of this policy can be requested by contacting the Clerk.

Submitting evidence

2.  If you wish to submit evidence, please send an electronic copy of your submission form to SeneddCYPE@assembly.wales.

Alternatively, you send it to:

Sarah Bartlett, Deputy Clerk,
Children, Young People and Education Committee
National Assembly for Wales
Cardiff Bay, CF99 1NA.

3.  Submissions should arrive by Friday 20 November 2015.  It may not be possible to take into account responses received after this date.

4.  When preparing your submission, please keep the following in mind:

• your response should address the issues before the Committee, and should be limited to the terms of reference.  
  
  
• the National Assembly normally makes responses to public consultation available for public scrutiny and they may also be seen and discussed by Assembly Members at Committee meetings.  If you do not want your response or name published, it is important that you clearly specify this in your submission; and
  
  
• please indicate whether you are responding on behalf of an organisation, or as an individual.

Guidance for witnesses providing written evidence for committees

5.  The Assembly is committed to providing accessible information to the widest audience possible.  This short guide is to assist witnesses who produce written information for committees.  This will enable the Assembly to provide information submitted by third parties in an accessible manner.

· Use plain English and plain Welsh – avoid unnecessary jargon.

· Use a minimum of font size 12.

· A clear sans serif typeface, such as Lucida Sans. 

· Do not have writing over graphics, pictures or watermarks.

· Colours and contrast - writing should have maximum contrast to the background: dark on light, light on dark.

· Do not use block capitals, and minimise use of bold, underlining and italics.

· If you wish to refer to a published document, please include a hyperlink to that document.

6.  Where possible, information should be provided in Microsoft Word (and on the form provided) to ensure accessibility.  Where a scan or Pdf is provided, particularly in the case of signed letters or tables of information, the original Word document should be provided along with it.

General

7.  The Committee welcomes evidence from those with an interest in this subject.  If you are responding on behalf of an organisation, please provide a brief description of the role of your organisation.  The Committee welcomes contributions in English and Welsh and we ask organisations with Welsh Language policies / schemes to provide bilingual submissions, in line with their public information policies.

8.  The Committee will consider responses to the written consultation and hold oral evidence sessions during specified dates.

9.  For your information, the Committee has invited submissions from a wide range of organisations, a list of which is available on request.  A copy of this letter has also been placed on the National Assembly’s website with an open invitation to submit views.