Adoption: Councils could lose powers, says government 24 January 2013 Last updated at 01:41 Councils in England could lose their powers over adoption services if they take too long to find adoptive parents, ministers have announced. The government said it was a last chance for local authorities to show they could recruit the adopters needed. Otherwise, new laws would require them to outsource adoption services. Ministers say they are "determined to address a situation where adopters are coming forward to adopt and are being told they are not wanted." Futures in balance Currently there are significant weaknesses in the way local authorities bring in more adopters. The government is not prepared to see these children miss out because the adoption recruitment system is failing," they added. According to official figures, there were 4,600 children waiting to be adopted in England in March 2012. Some 600 extra adopters a year were needed to cope with demand, as well as another 3,000 to deal with a backlog. The move over adoption powers is being unveiled by Children and Families Minister Edward Timpson. He said: "There are over 4,000 children waiting to be adopted nationally, but year on year local authorities are not recruiting enough people to give them stable and loving homes. We cannot stand by whilst children's futures hang in the balance. Some local authorities are already doing a good job to recruit the adopters they need in their area - but not enough is being done to address the national shortage. Up to challenge He added: "We have set out our vision of how we expect local authorities, together with voluntary adoption agencies, to respond to the needs of all children waiting for adoption. Local authorities must now demonstrate that they are up to the challenge, or we won't hesitate to intervene. The Department for Education said long-term structural reforms would take time and so it would return £150m to councils to help tackle pressing needs in adoption services. It will also award the Consortium of Voluntary Adoption Agencies a grant of £1 million to enable Voluntary Adoption Agencies to recruit more adopters. Latest figures show children are left in care for an average of 21 months before being adopted. In some areas, they have to wait up to three years before the process is completed.