Current status: Answered by Natalie Don-Innes on 16 December 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how many adopted children have been surrendered under section 25 of the Adoption and Children (Scotland) Act 2007 in each of the last three years, and what percentage of total adoptions this represents during each of these years.
The Scottish Government does not hold information at the level of detail requested. Analysis of related data collected for Looked After Children Statistics is included in the following table.
Year[1] | Total number of looked after children[2, 3]:
| Total number of looked after children adopted |
2021-22 | 10 | 211 |
2022-23 | 11 | 237 |
2023-24 | 7 | 182 |
[1] Year refers to the 12-month period ending on 31 July.
[2] Total number of looked after children refers to the number of looked after children either returned to the local authority under Section 25 of the Adoption and Children (Scotland) Act 2007, or where adoption did not proceed, under Section 26 of the Adoption and Children (Scotland) Act 2007, during each year.
[3] An adoption order was not issued for children counted in these figures, which have therefore not been shown as a percentage of all adoptions, where an adoption order was issued.