Government must involve councils in adoption to speed up the process of housing children, local government representatives have said.

In a joint letter to children's minister Edward Timpson, the Local Government Association (LGA), the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives and the Association of Directors of Children's Services said collaborating councils should be used to target support and help match adopters with children across the country.

Town halls, charities and voluntary groups have warned against government proposals to remove local authorities from the process of recruiting adopters, stating plans could damage the system and make it worse for both children and adopters.

Reforms should instead see councils working together across the country to match suitable adopters with children and targeting those in long-term care to speed up the system, the joint submission states.

Cllr David Simmonds, chairman of the LGA's children and young people board, said: ‘We know that adoptive mums and dads value the support and relationship they have with their local authority, and it is a fact that councils have twice the success rate of independent adoption agencies.

‘Removing councils from the process of recruiting adopters would be a reckless gamble that risks making things worse for adoptive parents and children in care. Parents tell us they value the consistent support that a council social worker offers throughout the process, with many continuing to offer assistance long after the adoption has taken place.

‘Government's starting point for recruiting more adopters needs to be working with councils, not removing them from the process altogether.'