Robin Swann
North Antrim · Ulster Unionist Party · Northern Ireland
“I thank the Minister for his detailed statement. I know how passionate he is about the subject and how many times he has brought it to the Executive.”
“It has been reported that today will potentially be the warmest day of the year. As we move into the summer and our summer holidays, I want to raise public awareness of wildfires across Northern Ireland, which have been detrimental to farmland and our environment over the past number of years.”
“Wildfires are still having a detrimental impact on our environment and, occasionally, on livestock, but that reduction shows the impact of the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service's proactive approach to educating the general public and engaging with rural communities and schools on its fire safety message, which is to stay alert, not…”
“There has been a lot of talk of sport in this place over the past few days, with everybody concentrating on UEFA. One sport that is going on across Northern Ireland at the minute is cross-community and goes across all age groups without fear, favour or distinction: pigeon racing.”
“I want to put on record that, since this place passed the amendment that recognised pigeon racing as a sport under the 2016 Act, over the past five years, pigeon racing clubs across Northern Ireland have been able to obtain £113,000 of rates rebates through the sports and recreation rate relief, allowing many of those clubs to continue ra…”
“There was much coverage on social media over the weekend of an incident in Staines in England, in which a police car rammed a young calf to bring it under control. It has restarted the conversation about animal cruelty. <BR /> <BR />I am dealing with a specific case in my constituency.”
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“It is important to distinguish between those two types of intermediary assistance, because some birth parents may wish only to receive information about an adopted adult in the first instance and may not be ready to decide whether to seek to establish contact. The amendments will provide them with the option of receiving either type of assistance or both. <BR /> <BR />Amendment No 6 will enable the Department to include new provisions about the disclosure of information for pre-commencement adoptions in regulations to be made under clause 102. That will allow all provisions on that important and sensitive matter to be covered in one new set of regulations, rather than continuing to rely on the Adoption Agencies Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1989, which are now more than 30 years old.”
“On a number of occasions, departmental officials met a group of victims and survivors of mother-and-baby institutions to discuss in particular the provisions in the Bill that relate to the disclosure of information. Many of the amendments in the group have come about as a result of points taken on board by my Department during those valuable discussions. <BR /> <BR />Amendment Nos 4 and 5 will allow regulations to be made that enable an adopted person's birth parent to benefit from a broader range of intermediary services than that currently provided for under the Bill. Those amendments will allow for regulations that will enable the birth parents of an adopted person to receive assistance in obtaining information from an adoption agency about the adoption. That is in addition to the assistance with contact that is already provided for.”
“<BR /> <BR />I emphasise that the Bill has been drafted in such a way that, as far as possible, all adopted adults should be able to access any information that is relevant to their birth and early life, subject to the impact on other parties being fully considered. That was a fundamental consideration during the development of the parts of the Bill that deal with access to adoption information, and it will remain so as the regulations that are to be made under the Bill are developed. <BR /> <BR />Access to information was one of the key themes that emerged from the work of the truth recovery design panel that was appointed to work with victims and survivors of mother-and-baby institutions, Magdalene laundries and workhouses in Northern Ireland.”
“It is an evolving, lifelong process for everyone involved: adopted adults and birth and adoptive relatives. It is clear that access to information about adoption is a key issue for adopted adults and their adoptive and birth relatives. In relation to information, the Bill distinguishes between adoptions that took place before the Bill commences and those that take place after that. That is necessary, because we cannot retrospectively impose requirements on how information is kept. However, we can ensure that the process of seeking and providing information is as seamless and supportive as possible and meets the needs of individuals. People will have different information needs and will want to work to their own timetables.”
“That concludes my remarks on the amendments relating to adoption and special guardianship support services. I am confident that the amendments tabled today will result in the better life outcomes that children who leave care through adoption or a special guardianship arrangement so richly deserve. <BR /> <BR />I will now speak to amendment Nos 4 to 10, which are tabled in my name. I thank Members for their contributions on what is a complex and sensitive issue. The amendments will amend clause 102, which makes provision for the disclosure of information about adoptions that have taken place prior to the commencement of the new arrangements in clauses 55 to 64. They are referred to as "Pre-commencement adoptions" in the Bill. <BR /> <BR />Adoption is not a one-off event.”
“Therefore, if amendment No 12 is agreed, I intend to work with the members of the Health Committee to table an amendment to address that issue at Further Consideration Stage.”
“could be considerably broader in scope and risks creating ambiguity around who is eligible for support. I consider it important to ensure consistency between the two related provisions, given their obvious interdependency.”
“By contrast, the term used in the Committee's amendment, which is:”
“will receive any support services assessed as being needed, whereas my amendment No 11 seeks to extend that to an assessment of a person's support needs on request to a prospective special guardian. Although the wording of the two amendments appears to be very similar, there is an important difference: a "prospective special guardian" is defined in my amendment as someone who has given notice of their intention to apply for a special guardianship order or:”
“On reviewing the clauses, following the Committee's report, I am therefore content to support the Committee's amendment Nos 3 and 12, subject to any inconsistency between the wording of the Committee's amendment No 12 and amendment No 11, which was tabled in my name, needing to be addressed. The Committee's amendment No 12 seeks to ensure:”
“The Department's reason for providing the power to specify the requirements in regulations was to give trusts some initial flexibility to decide in all cases whether to provide services that have been assessed as being needed, thus enabling them to target valuable resources at where they are most needed. That is the principle under which most health and social care services are provided. <BR /> <BR />I fully understand the motivation behind the Committee's amendments, however. I appreciate that there is a desire to include an unequivocal guarantee in the Bill so that those most impacted on by adoption and special guardianship can receive any service that is assessed as being needed.”
“As the Chair mentioned in his opening remarks, those amendments will place a duty on authorities to provide adoption and special guardianship support services that have been assessed as being needed. Clauses 5 and 119 as drafted provide a power for the Department to specify in regulations certain categories of people to whom the trust must provide any support that has been assessed as being needed. As part of the implementation, the Department had intended to capture and monitor the nature and range of support needs for both adoption and special guardianship. Doing that will determine any categories of persons for whom support services, having been assessed as being needed, must be provided.”
“Most importantly, for children, their carers and parents, the amended provision will help ensure that needs will be identified at a sufficiently early stage, thereby reducing the potential for the development of longer-term, more acute issues in special guardianship arrangements, including the risk of a breakdown. I am pleased that amendment Nos 11 and 13 address the concerns raised about clause 119 to the satisfaction of the Committee, as is noted in its report, and I commend them to the House. <BR /> <BR />I will now turn to amendment Nos 3 and 12, which were tabled on behalf of the Health Committee. Amendment No 3 relates to clause 5, which deals with adoption support services. Amendment No 12, under clause 119, will insert proposed new article 14F into the Children Order and deals with special guardianship support services.”
“My Department will also have the power to make regulations to prescribe additional categories of persons for whom an assessment must be undertaken on request, if required. Amendment No 13 is a consequential amendment to reflect that power. As part of the implementation, my Department will capture and monitor the nature and range of special guardianship support needs to determine whether any such categories should be prescribed. It is those amendments that are consistent with the approach that my Department has taken to clause 5, which requires an adoption authority to provide the assessment of adoption support needs on request. That applies to certain categories of people who are included in the Bill and to any other categories of people who may be prescribed in regulations.”
“<BR /> <BR />Amendment No 11 amends clause 119 to insert the provision into the new article 14F that will require an authority to provide an assessment of need for special guardianship support services, if requested by or on behalf of children for whom a special guardianship order has been applied for or is in force; that is by current or prospective special guardians and parents of such children.”
“<BR /> <BR />Amendment Nos 11 and 13 would amend clause 119 to address a concern raised by the Committee and some stakeholders that special guardianship support arrangements should be placed on an equal footing with the provision for adoption. I listened to the views of stakeholders and Committee members and responded by tabling the amendments. It is to ensure consistency between the provision of assessments for special guardianship support needs and the equivalent adoption provision. As a result, the current or prospective special guardians, the relevant children and their parents will be automatically entitled to receive an assessment of their support needs, if they so wish, at any time after a special guardianship order has been applied for. While the order is in place, the provision will be there.”
“I have listened with interest to Members' contributions on the amendments to clauses 5 and 119, which I consider to be at the heart of what the Bill seeks to achieve. As Carál Ní Chuilín summed it up, it is about ensuring that children who leave care through adoption or special guardianship receive the right support for as long as they need it, to enable them to live a happy and fulfilling life despite what will often have been a traumatic beginning. <BR /> <BR />I will first address amendment Nos 11 and 13, which were tabled in my name, and amendment Nos 3 and 10, which were tabled on behalf of the Committee. I will then speak on amendment Nos 4 to 10, which relate to the disclosure of adoption information.”
“It is clear just how many important issues this Bill touches on and how important it is that we get it right. What we are talking about today will impact on the lives of some of the most vulnerable children, on the arrangements for their future care and on the ability of caregivers to provide that care. We should not forget about that as we debate and take decisions on these amendments and amendments in the subsequent groups. That brings me to the end of my concluding remarks on the group 1 amendments.”
“The review of children's services will also inform actions that will build the capacity of children and family social services.”
“As a result of that activity and investment over the past three years, applications to the degree programmes have increased significantly. In recognition of increased demand for social workers and as a commitment to providing more career progression opportunities for social care workers, my Department has invested initially in 15 Open University undergraduate social work places, which commenced in the last financial year.”
“An implementation board is being established to oversee the implementation of the review's recommendations, which will address those workforce issues, including vacancies, and build a strong social work workforce. A collaborative regional approach to recruitment of band 5 and band 6 social workers in health and social care trusts commenced last year. Whilst it needs to be formally evaluated, there is general consensus among all trusts that, on the whole, it was a worthwhile approach to take. <BR /> <BR />My Department also intends to develop legislation on safe staffing levels that will apply to all professional groups, including social workers. The Northern Ireland Social Care Council (NISCC) has built an excellent resource on its website to encourage and guide people through the application process to become a social worker.”
“<BR /> <BR />On social work vacancies and challenges, which the Committee Chair also mentioned, the Department has recently completed a review of the social work workforce; it is with the Department of Health programme board for consideration and approval. The review report includes projections for the number of social workers needed to meet current and future service demands. Those projections include the number of additional social workers who will be required on the basis of demographics and analysis of current and future needs. There is also a significant body of work that needs to be implemented on commissioning, recruitment, retention and development of our workforce.”
“We are exploring whether, under the 1993 Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption and/or domestic legislation, there is scope to establish a special arrangement between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, with the aim of streamlining or harmonising current practice and/or procedure relating to the adoption of children between the two jurisdictions. <BR /> <BR />Officials will give careful further consideration to SGOs and their application on a North/South basis. On EU exit, which the Chair raised, my Department's legal advisers have confirmed that the 1996 Hague Convention provides the necessary cover in place of the Brussels 11A regulation, which no longer applies.”
“All adoptions between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, whether or not they involve relatives, are treated in legal terms as inter-country adoption. A North/South protocol for handling inter-jurisdictional child cases, including kinship placements, has been in place since 2011. That protocol was recently revised, and an updated version was agreed by the North/South Ministerial Council child protection officials group and came into effect on 1 August 2021. It will be subject to annual review by relevant authorities in both jurisdictions. It provides a framework to assist relevant social work authorities in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland to work together in relation to children and/or families known to social services who move or are placed across the border. I am happy to supply that information to the Committee.”
“As the matters will be prescribed already, as applied to existing applications to the General Register Office (GRO), I consider that the affirmative resolution procedure will not be necessary. I am, however, content to explore that with the Committee between now and Further Consideration Stage. <BR /> <BR />With regard to cross-border placements and care, under both current law and the Bill, adoptive parents and children in Northern Ireland are afforded the same access to assessment for adoption support, regardless of whether the adoption took place in Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland or overseas. In particular, clause 2(8) makes clear that the adoption service is comprehensive and is intended to include domestic and inter-country adoption.”
“The details are the same as those currently prescribed in regulations that are required when an adopted person over the age of 18 applies for their birth certificate and when an adopted person under the age of 18 is applying for information about whether they and the person they intend to marry may be within the prohibited degrees of relationship. <BR /> <BR />The regulations prescribing this were made by way of negative resolution procedure. I do not consider that it would be appropriate for regulation that is to be made under clause 77 of the Bill, which may actually be an amendment to the existing 95 regulations, to be subject to a different procedure from those original regulations.”
“The clause creates a power to prescribe in regulations the information that must be provided to the Registrar General on seeking to obtain certified a copy of an entry in the adopted children register relating to an adopted person who has not attained the age of 18 years. These regulations will be made by the Department of Finance. It is anticipated that the information required to be provided will be the full name and date of birth of the adopted person, the full names of the adoptive parents and the minimum information required to support identification.”
“Finally, any requirements under the Children Order for the child's parent to make contributions to the child's maintenance will also be disapplied, which, in the circumstances, is right and proper. <BR /> <BR />It is important to highlight the fact that the regulations to be made under clause 52 will not amend any provision in the Children Order, and such provision will just not apply in this specific set of circumstances. I consider that this is a technical necessity to avoid the duplication of duties and any confusion that might arise as a consequence. As a result, I do not consider the affirmative resolution procedure is required or necessary, and we should keep our approach consistent with that taken in England and Wales in relation to similar regulations. <BR /> <BR />Clause 77 is the adopted children register "Searches and copies".”
“However, some adjustments are required that will take account of the fact that requirements under the Bill also now apply. It is not appropriate to have a continuing duty to promote contact under the Children Order, as contact will be agreed as part of the placement for adoption arrangements under the Bill. Indeed, that could cause issue, if the court has already imposed certain restrictions on contact as part of the placement arrangements. Likewise, the requirements under the Children Order to seek the views of the parent no longer need to apply. That does not mean that their views will not be sought, because clause 3 of the Bill requires the adoption agency, in coming to any decision about a child's adoption, to have regard to the wishes and feelings of the children's relatives.”
“Therefore, on the basis that these regulations are intended to specify the process around a decision to refuse contact rather than the grounds on which contact might be refused, I remain of the view that affirmative resolution procedure is not necessary. <BR /> <BR />Clause 52 is the "Modification of Children Order in relation to adoption". That clause enables the Department to make regulations applying, with modifications, or disapplying certain provisions of the Children Order in relation to a child whom an adoption authority has placed or is authorised to place for adoption. So, once an adoption agency has been authorised to place a child for adoption, that child becomes looked after, and the Children Order should, as a result, apply.”
“I am not sure who else would need to be considered. <BR /> <BR />It is also intended that regulations would specify what needs to take place in advance of the decision to refuse contact. That is intended to include the agreement of the child, prior to consultation with the prospective adopter, and a written, rather than a verbal, agreement. It is important to note that the reason on which such decisions should be based is set out in the Bill, that is clause 24(2), which provides that an agency may refuse to allow contact if:”
“<BR /> <BR />As I indicated, I have tabled amendments to four clauses that the Examiner of Statutory Rules highlighted and the Chair raised. The regulations to be made under the remaining clauses — 24, 52 and 77 — are mainly procedural in nature and, on that basis, should remain subject to the negative resolution procedure. However, I am content to work with the Committee on what is tabled at Further Consideration Stage. <BR /> <BR />In clause 24, "Contact: supplementary", while the regulations to be made relate to refusing contact, they do not specify the grounds on which contact may be refused. Rather, it is intended that they would specify who must be informed when contact is refused, and this would include the child, the prospective adopter and any person for whom contact is made possible by way of a court order.”
“That is why I welcome that we are where we are today. It is worth noting that the last Health Minister to try to get legislation of this nature to this stage was my party colleague, Michael McGimpsey. <BR /> <BR />I acknowledge a number of recommendations that were made by members of the Health Committee in its report that, whilst falling outside the direct purview of the Bill, are nonetheless relevant to my Department's broader objective of providing effective support to looked-after children, children in need and children who leave care. I can assure Members that I have noted the matters that have been raised and that my Department will give due consideration to each of the recommendations that were made in the Committee's report.”
“Thank you very much, Mr Deputy Speaker. I thank Members for their good wishes. As Mr Chambers said, the fact that I am able to be here today and take this Consideration Stage is testament to the power of the vaccine and the booster doses. <BR /> <BR />I thank Members for their contributions to the debate on the first group of amendments, which has focused mostly on the technical and consequential issues. In response to Mr Allister's earlier point of order — I am not sure whether he is in the Chamber — I can assure him that I would rather be in the Chamber in person. If any Member needs clarity on any point that I am unable to provide today, I will follow up with them directly in writing following today's debate. <BR /> <BR />A number of Members referenced the long overdue need for this update of the legislation.”
“My Department has determined, based on legal advice from the Departmental Solicitor's Office (DSO) and the Office of the Legislative Counsel (OLC) that outdated legislation giving effect to an international adoption convention that is no longer in operation — that is, the Adoption (Hague Convention) Act (Northern Ireland) 1969 — should be repealed. Amendment No 59 will insert a provision in schedule 5 to the Bill to repeal the 1969 Act, and amendment No 58 will amend schedule 4 to insert savings provisions to ensure that the future rights to anyone adopted through a convention adoption order under the 1969 Act will not be negatively affected by its repeal. <BR /> <BR />I thank Members for bearing with me, and I look forward to hearing their views on the amendments in the group.”
“The amendment will provide that legal aid services will not be funded for the provision of advice, assistance or representation of any children's court guardian for the purpose of proceedings under clause 106 of the Bill. Amendment No 51 will provide for that and will ensure that there is consistency of approach to children's court guardians, whether they are appointed under the Children Order or the Adoption and Children Bill. <BR /> <BR />Finally, in this group, I turn to amendment Nos 58 and 59, which deal with the repeal of the Adoption (Hague Convention) Act (Northern Ireland) 1969.”
“Under that clause, a children's court guardian, which is the new title for the guardian ad litem introduced by the Bill, will be appointed for applications for the making, varying or revocation of an adoption placement order; the making of adoption order applications for the making, varying or revocation of any order for contact during placement for adoption; and the making of an order under clause 84 that gives parental responsibility prior to the adoption board. <BR /> <BR />My Department has agreed with the Department of Justice that a consequential amendment should be made at paragraph 6 of schedule 2 to the 2003 Order.”
“<BR /> <BR />I turn now to amendment No 51, which makes a consequential amendment to the Access to Justice (Northern Ireland) Order 2003. Paragraph 6 of schedule 2 to the 2003 Order provides that legal aid services will not be funded for the provision of advice, assistance or representation to any guardian ad litem for the purpose of proceedings under the Children Order. It does not include any equivalent exemption in relation to a guardian ad litem currently appointed for the purpose of adoption proceedings under article 66 of the Adoption Order 1987. Article 66 of the 1987 Order will be repealed and replaced by clause 106 of the Bill.”
“That process will then inform any report that is required in order to meet the new statutory duty, and I do not, therefore, intend to oppose the introduction of a statutory duty on the Department to report on implementation. <BR /> <BR />I do, however, have one concern, and that relates to the fact that the duty to report will only cease to apply if the Department makes further regulations and that it may only do so after 10 years have elapsed since Royal Assent. Even if all the provisions were implemented much earlier than that, it would be more appropriate to include a sunset provision so that the duty would automatically cease to apply after a specified period. So, should amendment No 45 be agreed to, I intend at Further Consideration Stage to table a technical amendment to the proposed new clause to introduce a sunset provision.”
“In order to provide the Assembly, the Committee and stakeholders with assurance that implementation of the legislation is a priority for my Department, the Committee felt that there should be a requirement on the Department of Health to report on the implementation of this legislation. <BR /> <BR />We are all aware of the many challenges and delays in bringing this Bill forward. However, my Department has continued to prioritise the Bill, and I can assure Members that that will continue to be the case during the implementation process. In line with best practice in relation to any policy changes or legislation, the intention is that departmental officials will conduct an ongoing review of whether, and the extent to which, the Bill's intended outcomes have been met following the implementation of the relevant provisions.”
“The requirement would not apply until as soon as practicable after the third anniversary of the commencement of each of the provisions in parts 1 and 2 and at least every five years thereafter. Again, in relation to each of the provisions that have been commenced, the Department will have the power to specify in regulations a date for the requirements to cease to have effect at any time after the tenth anniversary of the Act's Royal Assent. <BR /> <BR />In its report on the Bill, the Committee notes that this legislation has been delayed a number of times over the past decade.”
“That will ensure consistency of approach for all regulations that relate to the NIACAR. <BR /> <BR />Amendment No 44 will amend clause 155 to include in the list of regulations those that are subject to affirmative resolution procedure in subsection (2) and the regulations that are made under clauses 149 and 150. <BR /> <BR />I consider that the regulations to be made under the remaining clauses — clauses 24, 52 and 57 — are mainly procedural in nature. On that basis, they should remain subject to negative resolution procedure, and I have not, therefore, proposed any amendment to those clauses. <BR /> <BR />Amendment No 45, which was tabled by the Committee for Health, will place a requirement on my Department to review and report on progress on the implementation of the Bill's provisions.”
“I turn now to two other clauses. Clause 149 provides for regulations to allow for the search and inspection of the Northern Ireland Adoption and Children Act register by prospective adopters who are suitable to adopt a child to enable them to identify a child on the register for whom they might be appropriate adopters. Clause 150 provides for regulations that relate to searches and inspections of the register by adoption agencies. <BR /> <BR />Other regulations that relate to the NIACAR are to be made under clauses 144, 146, 147 and 148. Those are to be made by the affirmative resolution procedure, given the nature of the information contained in the database. Having reviewed the position, I consider it appropriate that any regulations made under clause 149 or 150 are subject to the same procedure.”
“in the list of regulations. As a result, clause 42 regulations will be subject to the affirmative resolution procedure, and that will be consistent with the approach being taken with similar regulations. I thank the Member for North Antrim for drawing that to the attention of the House in the Bill's Second Stage debate.”
“That is in accordance with clause 155. The negative resolution procedure would apply when making those regulations. <BR /> <BR />Amendment No 43 will amend clause 155(2) to include regulations made under:”
“The other clause falls within the amendments to be considered as part of group 3. <BR /> <BR />I will deal first with clause 42, which provides a power for my Department to prescribe in regulation:”
“Those are technical matters that will be required as a result of the eventual repeal of the Adoption (Northern Ireland) Order 1987 by the Adoption and Children Bill. <BR /> <BR />I turn now to amendment Nos 43 and 44, which amend the procedure under which regulations must be made to ensure that they are subject to a higher degree of Assembly scrutiny. In her report on the Bill's delegated powers, the Examiner of Statutory Roles suggested that the Committee may wish to consider whether the required level of Assembly control should be altered from negative to affirmative resolution for certain regulations to be made under seven of the Bill's clauses: clauses 24, 42, 52, 77, 130, 149 and 150. I am proposing amendments to four of those clauses, three of which fall within this group of amendments.”
“<BR /> <BR />Clauses 144 to 150, which relate to the Northern Ireland Adoption and Children Act register (NIACAR), will also be amended to substitute references to the "Regional Board" with references to the "Department". Amendment Nos 22 to 42 provide for that, and, as a result, the Department will be responsible for establishing and maintaining the register. <BR /> <BR />The definition of "Regional Board" will be removed from the interpretation clause — clause 158 — on the basis that, on dissolution of the board, such a definition will no longer be required. Amendment No 46 provides for that. The remaining amendments — amendment Nos 48 to 50, 52 and 60 — will make consequential amendments to the 1991 Order and to the Health and Social Care Act (Northern Ireland) 2022 and, once enacted, will repeal some of the provisions in the 2022 Act.”
“As a result of amendments to be made by the Health and Social Care Act (Northern Ireland) 2022 to the Health and Personal Social Services (Northern Ireland) Order 1991, the Department will no longer need to make a power to prescribe, for the purpose of the Bill, the operational area of each health and social care trust. Instead, any reference to the operational area of a trust will be as specified under paragraph 3A of schedule 3 to the 1991 Order. Amendment No 1 will provide for such changes to be made to clause 3. <BR /> <BR />Amendment Nos 53 to 57 will amend transitional provisions in schedule 4 to the Bill. Again, they are to remove references to the regional board from the powers to enable elements of the new adoption support services framework to be implemented in advance of the Bill's full implementation.”
“In this group, as well as amendment No 1, I will speak to amendment Nos 2, 22 to 46 and 48 to 60. I propose to deal with amendment Nos 1, 2, 22 to 42, 46, 48 to 50, 52 to 57 and 60, which are amendments that relate to the dissolution of the regional board. As Members will be aware, the Health and Social Care Act (Northern Ireland) 2022 makes provision for the Regional Health and Social Care Board to be dissolved. The Adoption and Children Bill needs to be amended to remove references to "Regional Board" where they appear. Amendment No 2 will amend clause 3 to remove the regional board from the definition of an adoption authority, although Members should be assured that each health and social care trust will continue to be the adoption authority in its area.”