A regional adoption agency is set to launch next year after a successful bid for Government funding by local authorities on Merseyside. 

The organisation, featuring 50 staff from Wirral, Liverpool, Knowsley, and Sefton, will be tasked with placing children as quickly as possible.

Their responsibilities will include recruitment, approval and ongoing support for adopters, tracking, linking and matching of children and the training and development of staff.

Councillor Tony Smith, Wirral's cabinet member for children and family services, said: "Finding the right, most appropriate and loving adoptive parents for a child is incredibly important.

"Wirral is lucky to have hundreds of foster carers and prospective adopters across the borough, all doing a fantastic job in supporting vulnerable children.

"The proposals in this report help us go even further, and create a regional adoption agency – allowing access to a bigger pool of adopters, quicker and more efficient processes and - crucially - a much better chance of matching a child with the perfect adoptive family."

Although the regional agency will have a centralised hub, staff will have a presence in each of their local authority areas to ensure they retain close links with social workers.

Every year the four local authorities approve around 100 adopters and place approximately 140 children for adoption.

Consultation has taken place with staff and trade unions, and adopters are also being kept informed.

Wirral's council cabinet will discuss the proposals on Monday.