Adoption by gay couples and different-race parents is to be examined as part of a review of the service in East Sussex.

The county council scrutiny committee for social inclusion is carrying out an inspection with the aim of cutting red tape and making the service more user-friendly.

Methods of identifying children for adoption and preparing prospective parents will come under the microscope.

So will the length of time the process takes and factors used to choose adopters, such as age, race, health and lifestyle.

Adoption by homosexual couples will be discussed.

Members of the public are being invited to submit comments as part of the review, which is expected to be finished in December.

Councillor John Livings, chairman of the scrutiny committee, said: "There is a lot of red tape in dealing with applications from couples wanting to adopt and children ready for adoption and the movement between the two is often very fragmented.

"This causes an unnecessary delay.

"We also want to look at how parents are chosen, such as the aim of trying to have the same race parent as the child, and we will discuss adoption by homosexual couples.

"We want to see if there are any ways in which we can make the service more people-friendly.

"We will be considering all aspects of our adoption service in the context of the national debate on this subject.

"We will be talking to different groups of people who are or who have been in contact with us, but we would like to hear from anyone who has a point of view on this subject.

"What the people of East Sussex think about adoption services will be important to us in reaching our conclusions."

Mr Livings said the committee was keen to hear from potential adoptive parents who had been turned down.

Last year the council approved 49 children for adoption.

Based on its findings, the scrutiny committee can make recommendations for changes in policy.

Comments can be sent in writing to: Neil Weatherall, project manager, East Sussex County Council, County Hall, Lewes, BN7 1SW.