Apr 20th 2020, 12:17

EXCELLENT ADVICE FROM WILDY COVERING ADOPTION LAW IN THIS NEW PRACTICAL GUIDE FOR 2020s

An appreciation by Elizabeth Taylor of Richmond Green Chambers and Phillip Taylor MBE, Head of Chambers, Reviews Editor, “The Barrister”, and Mediator


Nasreen Pearce and Richard Budworth are to be congratulated on this excellent new work from Wildy, Simmonds and Hill Publishing. The authors intend to give us a practical guide which will be accessible not only to lawyers and professionals involved in the adoption process, but also to non-professionals and others, and they do just that.

The purpose of the book is to offer an understanding of the adoption process and the rights and obligations of all concerned. As is the case with all the Wildy practical guides in the series, readers are advised in all instances to refer to and follow the relevant statutory provisions, regulations, rules, practice directions and case law as they emerge.

For instance, and example is the Adoption and Children Act 2002, which sets out the statutory framework, contains 115 sections and 5 schedules. This area of law becomes complex and detailed very quickly! The reason being that these provisions are supported by secondary legislation, international conventions, rules, guidance, practice notes and the case law which has developed since the Act came into force.


Pearce and Budworth offer us a comprehensive guide to the law, practice and procedure as professionals in this area of law. In addition, we think it will be useful for those who are concerned with or involved in any aspect of the adoption process. There are 20 chapters, and the structure of the work is set out by paragraph numbering for ease of reference with a useful index by page numbering at the back.

We are given coverage by the authors of each stage of the adoption process, including the always difficult issue of contact between the child and their birth parents. Also reviewed are the alternative options available by reference to the relevant case law and regulations concerning domestic adoptions as well as adoptions with a foreign element. Registration of adoption and the sensitive issue of disclosure of information are also considered although throughout you are advised to refer to the leading detailed authorities because this remains a short practical guide at around 300 pages in keeping with the Wildy practical guides.

The writers also review the statutory obligations and responsibilities imposed on adoption agencies, support services and other professional bodies who are concerned with adoption towards all the parties involved.

These include the position of the child who is the subject of the proceedings which will, of course, be of paramount importance. “Adoption Law” therefore outlines the rights of those parties to challenge decisions made by the professional bodies involved in the process. The tragedy of the long waiting-list for child to be adopted persists as a major problem and there remains an urgent need to deal with the issue of who can and cannot adopt.

We feel this book will give some comfort to readers who are prospective adopters facing difficulties when they offer the love, care and the stable home every child in care deserves but are turned down. Thank you, Wildy for continuing to publish these excellent practical guides for us as it makes life a great deal easier for all of us.

The law is stated as at 29th November 2019. The publication date of this paperback edition is cited as at 28th February 2020.

'A thorough, well-sign-posted yet concise digest that should be on the shelves of any adoption professional ... will become indispensable to professionals in the field.' British Journal of Social Work (Kate Cowell, Panel Adviser Contract England)