Select committee: Education Committee
Recommendation 4
8th Report - Historical Forced Adoption
Published 27 Mar 2026
Addressed to Department for Education
Education Committee Historical Forced Adoption All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Recommendation (the committee's words)
Historical forced adoption practices involved systemic coercion, the removal of parental choice and often resulted in deep trauma and lifelong consequences for mental and physical health. A formal apology is necessary to acknowledge these harms and to recognise the state’s role in 28 permitting them. We should be clear that the scope of the apology should extend beyond the 1949–1976 period as we have received clear evidence that the practices associated with forced adoptions happened before 1949 and continued after the introduction of the Adoption Act 1976. (Conclusion, Paragraph 28)
From: Education Committee, 8th Report - Historical Forced Adoption (HC 1713), 27 March 2026
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 9 July 2026 (deadline 27 May 2026).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The Government accepts the Committee's recommendations on an apology and the state's role, accepts some others in principle or in part, and says it will take a "phased and targeted approach" to further research.
- On the apology, the Government says it "has delivered a formal apology to all those affected" and accepts the recommendations that it recognise the state's role in enabling these practices.
- On records, it accepts the recommendation to preserve them: "subject to Parliamentary approval", it will introduce regulatory changes requiring most existing historical adoption records to be retained for a minimum of 100 years.
- It partially accepts the recommendation on access to records and intermediary services. It will support a national platform and expand funded intermediary services, and will "consider whether further regulatory or legislative steps are required" if the measures are not sufficient.
- On health and research, it partially accepts the recommendations. NHS England "will explore" recording experience of forced adoption in health records, and it will commission a testimonials project but "keep the need for further research under review".