authority legal adviser with responsibility for lodging the application and filing evidence with the court. The legal adviser should submit the original report plus an extra copy with the court for service upon a CAFCASS Officer. In the exceptional case where it is not possible to file the report at the same time as the placement order application, the agency will need to be ready to tell the court, by the time of the first Directions hearing, (which is held within four weeks of the issue of the application) how soon it will be ready. Agency adoption applications 8.91. It is a matter for the prospective adopter when they issue their adoption application (provided the child has had a home with them for at least ten weeks) but in practice it will be important for the placing agency to liaise closely with them about this. Section 43 of the Act and Rules 14.6 and 14.11, and Annex A of the relevant Practice Direction provide for the submission of reports in agency adoption applications. Rule 14.6 provides that the court clerk will request a report from the adoption agency once the adoption application has been issued, and Rule 14.11 152 requires the agency to submit the report within the timetable specified by the court. The contents of the report are set out in Annex A of the Practice Direction. The court may ask for further information or assistance from the agency. Section 42 of the Act provides that the court cannot make an adoption order unless it is satisfied that the agency has had sufficient opportunities to see the child with the applicant together in their home. The visits that the agency must make under AAR 36, and the reports made of those visits, will therefore be important in enabling the report to be completed. Preparation of the report 8.92. The social worker