The Government is today expected to publish a White Paper on adoption which will propose new laws to make adoptions quicker and easier.

One of the main aspects to the White Paper is expected to be new national criteria for to relax restrictions some local authorities impose on prospective adoptive families who are overweight or smoke.

Yesterday the Guardian ran a panel to ask if this was a good idea - and all the panelists agreed.

Felicity Collier, Chief executive of the British Agencies for Adoption and Fostering, however, made the point that it was largely a myth that "politically correct social workers block wonderful, loving parents from adopting".

"In our experience, that is not the case. If parents want to adopt, they are putting themselves on the line and it is important that they get a fair hearing, but it is also important to remember that the children in the care system need protecting," she said.

A British parent who went to Canada to adopt her Mexican son applauded plans to reform the system to make it less restrictive but said popele who smoked should be barred from adopting.

Sean Galligan, Chair of the Albert Kennedy Trust called for gay people to have the same adopting rights as heterosexuals and Monica Duck, director of the Post Adoption Centre drew attention to the need for families to have adequate post-adoption support because adoptive children were now older and more likely to have emotional problems.

Ann van Meeuwen, principal policy officer of Barnardo's, also backed the idea of more support and called for the Government to pay for more financial support to encourage more families from minority groups and single parents to come forward as adopters.