Edward Timpson MP: Improving the adoption system will transform lives

Edward Timpson is chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for adoption and fostering and the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Looked after Children and Care-leavers. He has two adopted younger brothers and his parents have fostered almost 90 children.

The 16th of May 1983 was a significant day in my life, but it was an even more momentous moment for my brother Oliver. It was the day he was adopted into our family.

The next 28 years have been far from easy, and the trauma Oliver suffered before he came to live with us as a six year old foster child still to this day affects his behaviour, his relationships and his ability to cope with what life throws at him. But we wouldn't have changed it for the world.

Now 35 years old, Oliver remains a crucial part of our family, but perhaps more importantly, we have remained a crucial part of him.

Yet although my personal experience of adoption has been extremely positive, my professional experience as a Family Barrister specialising in care cases has been less so.