Sections 9 and 14 of the Adoption (Intercountry Aspects) Act 1999 came into force on 30 April 2001, placing a duty on councils to establish and maintain a service that covers both domestic and intercountry adoption. It is not clear what funding has been made available to cover these new duties. We fully agree that children should not be bought and sold and that there must be scrutiny of placements. (Clause 91)