Govt publishes adoption map

Francesca Polini ended up adopting abroad after facing, what she describes, as too many hurdles in the UK. Speaking to Daybreak, she says a new helpline which offers advice from existing adopters on the process is "a gimmick".

She says there is little point promoting adoption without offering a robust framework that parents and children need.

Thousands of children in Britain are left waiting to find new families as couples desperate to adopt struggle to wade through red tape.

This morning a new helpline is being launched by the Government to try and speed up the process, Families Minister Edward Timpson told ITV Daybreak that the process can take as long as two and half years.

He said that the Government aims to reform the whole of the adoption process and get the 4,000 children currently in care into a loving home.

• The new First4Adoption hotline, which opens for the first time today, can be accessed on 0300 2220022 between 10am and 6pm Monday to Friday.

• The map will be available on the Department for Education website.

The Government is publishing a map showing parts of England where children are most in need of parents.

The adoption map will be issued as part of a drive to cut adoption waits.

It comes after concerns by educational officials that prospective parents are often not being pointed to high-need areas if their own has few youngsters on its list.

Today a Government-funded hotline is will also be launched, offering advice from existing adopters on negotiating the process.