'Misconceptions' about adoption process

There are still 6,000 children waiting for adoption, according to Norman Goodwin from Adoption Matters Northwest.

He said there were more people coming forward to adopt now, but some people held back because they had misconceptions about the adoption process.

Councils in England will receive an extra £50m in grants next year to help recruit more would-be adopters.

The Department for Education also announced improvements to interactive maps, originally published in January 2013, to help would-be adopters find a child to adopt.