Adoption system 'failing children'

Only 12 Scottish babies were adopted last year, despite hundreds languishing in care.

Official figures show that of the 23 children under the age of one who were adopted last year, 11 were taken on by their parent's partner. But during 2010 there were 373 children in that age group in care. The figures have been blamed on red tape, which makes the adoption process "slow and bureaucratic".

David Holmes, chief executive of the British Association for Adoption and Fostering, said: "Children who need adoption aren't getting it quickly enough or at all." PA