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Four out of ten children in Nottingham have been waiting for an adoptive family for up to two years, says a new report.

And children who are black or of mixed race usually have to wait the longest and may even have their adoption plan withdrawn because they been waiting for too long.

The problem has been highlighted in a report by the Social Services Inspectorate and Audit Commission on Nottingham City Council social services.

It also revealed that many foster parents in the city had expressed concerns about children drifting in care.

The report says: "Although good progress has been made in increasing adoptive and foster placements, demand still outstrips supply. A high proportion of children are fostered, but many children experience a number of moves, and for some children in residential care there are difficulties in moving them on to successful foster placements."

At the time of the report, 176 children had been referred for adoption or had an adoption plan but 40 per cent had been waiting between one and two years for placement and 10 per cent longer than two years.

Black and mixed-race children on average wait longer for placements and a higher proportion have their adoption plan rescinded, largely because they have waited so long that the plan is no longer appropriate, says the report.

Once placed, the target time to adoption order is one year, but half have been waiting for longer than a year, and 20 per cent for more than two years.

The report calls on the authority to look at ways of speeding up the adoption processes. Some of the delays are down to "current fieldwork team structure", it says but improved communication with the courts and better monitoring for children in residential care and black and ethnic minority children is needed.

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