y is considering adoption for a child. Introduction 2.1. This part of the guidance deals with the duties of the adoption agency when it is considering whether a child should be placed for adoption. In the majority of cases this will involve a local authority making plans for a looked after child and many of the steps that need to be taken will be the same as those involved in planning for any looked after child (see Children Act 1989 Guidance and Regulations: Volume 2: Care Planning, Placement and Case Review particularly chapter 2). In a minority of cases a birth parent or parents will ask a local authority or a voluntary adoption agency (VAA) – possibly before the birth of a baby – to place the child for adoption. 2.2. The following timescales should generally be adhered to during this part of the adoption process, unless the agency considers that in a particular case complying with a timescale would not be in the child’s interests – the paramount consideration must always be the welfare of the child:  the child's need for a permanent home should be addressed and a permanence plan made at the four month review;  the adoption panel should receive all necessary information from the agency within six weeks of the completion of the child's permanence report (CPR); and  the adoption panel’s recommendation on whether the child should be placed for adoption should be made within two months of a review where adoption has been identified as the permanence plan. Where the agency is unable to comply with a timescale or decides not to, it should record the reasons on the child’s case record. 2.3. The agency should monitor its performance against these timescales and make this information available in its six-monthly reports under the National Minimum Standards 25.6. 33 Plannin