Speeches by Asato.

“I am Jess Asato MP. I want to declare an interest as having formerly worked at Barnardo’s.”

“Peter Forrest, I was interested in your comment that unmarried mothers “fall” pregnant, because actually unmarried mothers did not have an immaculate conception. There was another person involved—a man. I am interested in whether any of the records of adoptions record the father or what led to the mother becoming pregn…”

“What about the question about whether you had recorded whether the baby was a result of sexual abuse, rather than willing consent?”

“Okay. Does any of the rest of the panel know about that particular aspect of unmarried mothers? No? Thank you.”

“What about the question about whether you had recorded whether the baby was a result of sexual abuse, rather than willing consent?”

“Some of that crosses over with my next question, which is about what practical changes to post-adoption counselling services would help to ensure that mothers and adoptees can safely access the care that they need. I am quite interested in trauma-informed pathways, because although the evidence base for its effectivene…”

“Do any other panellists have comments on what practical changes we could make to post-adoption counselling?”

“Is there any evidence of mothers being misinformed, pressured or denied the opportunity to withdraw their consent?”

“There is well-documented evidence that mothers and adoptees affected by forced adoption practices can feel shame, self-blame and trauma. We heard that extensively from our first panel. What is your assessment of the current availability of trauma-informed mental health pathways for adult adoptees and birth mothers?”

“How has the inability to reunite shaped the lives of mothers and their adopted children?”

“There is well-documented evidence that mothers and adoptees affected by forced adoption practices can feel shame, self-blame and trauma. We heard that extensively from our first panel. What is your assessment of the current availability of trauma-informed mental health pathways for adult adoptees and birth mothers?”

“Some of that crosses over with my next question, which is about what practical changes to post-adoption counselling services would help to ensure that mothers and adoptees can safely access the care that they need. I am quite interested in trauma-informed pathways, because although the evidence base for its effectivene…”

“Peter Forrest, I was interested in your comment that unmarried mothers “fall” pregnant, because actually unmarried mothers did not have an immaculate conception. There was another person involved—a man. I am interested in whether any of the records of adoptions record the father or what led to the mother becoming pregn…”

“Do any other panellists have comments on what practical changes we could make to post-adoption counselling?”

“What are the implications of increased access to DNA and ancestry testing for individuals affected by historical forced adoption?”

“I am Jess Asato MP. I want to declare an interest as having formerly worked at Barnardo’s.”

“Do any of you have any particular approaches that work best for boys? We know there is a gender divide and that boys in particular are at their lowest level ever of reading for pleasure. Only if you have any evidence specifically for supporting boys in school. No. Are there any particular approaches that have been demo…”

“Do we have time to come back to best practice in schools a little bit? What are the best evidence-based approaches that schools can take to promote reading for pleasure? I will start with Teresa. I will call this the parents’ question. Does World Book Day work?”

“Also it is about those who said that they enjoyed reading in their free time, trying to make that distinction between school and home.”

“Very quickly, is there any evidence that suggests that there is a tactile dimension to holding and reading a physical book that helps with the retention and comprehension versus, say, a Kindle, or are you just as likely to remember, retain and comprehend a book on a device as you are in the physical object?”