^{VOPFN colleague Janet Greenlees gives evidence on historic forced adoption}

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On 24 February 2026, Dr Janet Greenlees, Reader in Health History at Glasgow Caledonian University, gave oral evidence to the House of Commons Education Committee during its work on Historical Forced Adoption. The session examined the social, legal and policy context of historic forced adoption practices, including the pressures placed on unmarried mothers and the lessons that can be learned from responses in Scotland and the Republic of Ireland.

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In a recent public statement, Janet also confirmed that she submitted additional written evidence to the Committee on the Scottish apology and its impact on people with lived experience. Her contribution drew attention to the scale of forced family separation in Scotland, the background to the formal apology issued by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon on 22 March 2023, and the limited corrective action taken since.

Janet’s statement argues that meaningful redress must go beyond acknowledgement alone. She highlights continuing concerns around access to adoption records, the location and stewardship of the Adoption Contact Register, and the need for trauma-informed counselling with expertise in adoption for all those affected by these historic abuses. These concerns sit within a wider live policy context. A February 2026 ministerial letter to the Committee confirmed that the Scottish Government provided £163,000 to Birthlink in 2025/26 to deliver the Adoption Contact Register and described an oral history project intended to contribute to a “deeper and wider societal understanding of the past”. In 2025, the ICO also fined Birthlink £18,000 after the destruction of approximately 4,800 personal records, some of which may have been irreplaceable.

This contribution reflects the kind of work VOPFN exists to support: research and public engagement that connect historical injustice, family separation, gendered stigma and the long afterlives of policy failure. As parliamentary and public discussions continue, Janet’s work helps ensure that the experiences of mothers, children and families affected by forced adoption remain visible, evidenced and impossible to sidestep.