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A | |
Bill | |
[AS AMENDED IN GRAND COMMITTEE] | |
To | |
restate and amend the law relating to adoption; to make further amendments | |
of the law relating to children; to amend section 93 of the Local Government | |
Act 2000; and for connected purposes. | |
Be it enacted by the Queen’s most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and | |
consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present | |
Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:— | |
Part 1 | |
Adoption | |
Chapter 1 | |
Introductory | |
1 Considerations applying to the exercise of powers | 5 |
(1) This section applies whenever a court or adoption agency is coming to a | |
decision relating to the adoption of a child. | |
(2) The paramount consideration of the court or adoption agency must be the | |
child’s welfare, throughout his life. | |
(3) The court or adoption agency must at all times bear in mind that, in general, | 10 |
any delay in coming to the decision is likely to prejudice the child’s welfare. | |
(4) The court or adoption agency must have regard to the following matters | |
(among others)— | |
(a) the child’s ascertainable wishes and feelings regarding the decision | |
(considered in the light of the child’s age and understanding), | 15 |
(b) the child’s particular needs, | |
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(c) the likely effect on the child (throughout his life) of having ceased to be | |
a member of the original family and become an adopted person, | |
(d) the child’s age, sex, background and any of the child’s characteristics | |
which the court or agency considers relevant, | |
(e) any harm (within the meaning of the Children Act 1989 (c. 41)) which | 5 |
the child has suffered or is at risk of suffering, | |
(f) the relationship which the child has with relatives, and with any other | |
person in relation to whom the court or agency considers the | |
relationship to be relevant, including— | |
(i) the likelihood of any such relationship continuing and the value | 10 |
to the child of its doing so, | |
(ii) the ability and willingness of any of the child’s relatives, or of | |
any such person, to provide the child with a secure | |
environment in which the child can develop, and otherwise to | |
meet the child’s needs, | 15 |
(iii) the wishes and feelings of any of the child’s relatives, or of any | |
such person, regarding the child. | |
(5) In placing the child for adoption, the adoption agency must give due | |
consideration to the child’s religious persuasion, racial origin and cultural and | |
linguistic background. | 20 |
(6) The court or adoption agency must always consider the whole range of powers | |
available to it in the child’s case (whether under this Act or the Children Act | |
1989 (c. 41)); and the court must not make any order under this Act unless it | |
considers that making the order would be better for the child than not doing so. | |
(7) In this section, “coming to a decision relating to the adoption of a child”, in | 25 |
relation to a court, includes— | |
(a) coming to a decision in any proceedings where the orders that might be | |
made by the court include an adoption order (or the revocation of such | |
an order), a placement order (or the revocation of such an order) or an | |
order under section 26 (or the revocation or variation of such an order), | 30 |
(b) coming to a decision about granting leave in respect of any action (other | |
than the initiation of proceedings in any court) which may be taken by | |
an adoption agency or individual under this Act, | |
but does not include coming to a decision about granting leave in any other | |
circumstances. | 35 |
(8) For the purposes of this section— | |
(a) references to relationships are not confined to legal relationships, | |
(b) references to a relative, in relation to a child, include the child’s mother | |
and father. | |
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Chapter 2 | |
The Adoption Service | |
The Adoption Service | |
2 Basic definitions | |
(1) The services maintained by local authorities under section 3(1) may be | 5 |
collectively referred to as “the Adoption Service”, and a local authority or | |
registered adoption society may be referred to as an adoption agency. | |
(2) In this Act, “registered adoption society” means a voluntary organisation | |
which is an adoption society registered under Part 2 of the Care Standards Act | |
2000 (c. 14); but in relation to the provision of any facility of the Adoption | 10 |
Service, references to a registered adoption society or to an adoption agency do | |
not include an adoption society which is not registered in respect of that | |
facility. | |
(3) A registered adoption society is to be treated as registered in respect of any | |
facility of the Adoption Service unless it is a condition of its registration that it | 15 |
does not provide that facility. | |
(4) No application for registration under Part 2 of the Care Standards Act 2000 | |
(c.14) may be made in respect of an adoption society which is an | |
unincorporated body. | |
(5) In this Act— | 20 |
“the 1989 Act” means the Children Act 1989 (c.41), | |
“adoption society” means a body whose functions consist of or include | |
making arrangements for the adoption of children, | |
“voluntary organisation” means a body other than a public or local | |
authority the activities of which are not carried on for profit. | 25 |
(6) In this Act, “adoption support services” means— | |
(a) counselling, advice and information in connection with adoption, and | |
(b) such other services as are specified in regulations (which may include | |
financial support). | |
(7) In this Chapter, references to adoption are to the adoption of persons, | 30 |
wherever they may be habitually resident, effected under the law of any | |
country or territory, whether within or outside the British Islands. | |
3 Maintenance of Adoption Service | |
(1) Each local authority must continue to maintain within their area a service | |
designed to meet the needs, in relation to adoption, of— | 35 |
(a) children who may be adopted, their parents and guardians, | |
(b) persons wishing to adopt a child, and | |
(c) adopted persons, their parents, natural parents and former guardians; | |
and for that purpose must provide the requisite facilities. | |
(2) Those facilities must include making, and participating in, arrangements— | 40 |
(a) for the adoption of children, and | |
(b) for the provision of adoption support services. | |
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(3) As part of the service, the arrangements made for the purposes of subsection | |
(2)(b)— | |
(a) must extend to the provision of adoption support services to persons | |
who are within a description prescribed by regulations, | |
(b) may extend to the provision of those services to other persons. | 5 |
(4) A local authority may provide any of the requisite facilities by securing their | |
provision by— | |
(a) registered adoption societies, or | |
(b) other persons who are within a description prescribed by regulations of | |
persons who may provide the facilities in question. | 10 |
(5) The facilities of the service must be provided in conjunction with the local | |
authority’s other social services and with registered adoption societies in their | |
area, so that help may be given in a co-ordinated manner without duplication, | |
omission or avoidable delay. | |
(6) The social services referred to in subsection (5) are the functions of a local | 15 |
authority which are social services functions within the meaning of the Local | |
Authority Social Services Act 1970 (c. 42) (which include, in particular, those | |
functions in so far as they relate to children). | |
4 Assessments etc. for adoption support services | |
(1) A local authority must at the request of— | 20 |
(a) any of the persons mentioned in paragraphs (a) to (c) of section 3(1), or | |
(b) any other person who falls within a description prescribed by | |
regulations (subject to subsection (7)(a)), | |
carry out an assessment of that person’s needs for adoption support services. | |
(2) A local authority may, at the request of any person, carry out an assessment of | 25 |
that person’s needs for adoption support services. | |
(3) A local authority may request the help of the persons mentioned in paragraph | |
(a) or (b) of section 3(4) in carrying out an assessment. | |
(4) Where, as a result of an assessment, a local authority decide that a person has | |
needs for adoption support services, they must then decide whether to provide | 30 |
any such services to that person. | |
(5) If— | |
(a) a local authority decide to provide any adoption support services to a | |
person, and | |
(b) the circumstances fall within a description prescribed by regulations, | 35 |
the local authority must prepare a plan in accordance with which adoption | |
support services are to be provided to the person and keep the plan under | |
review. | |
(6) Regulations may make provision about assessments, preparing and reviewing | |
plans, the provision of adoption support services in accordance with plans and | 40 |
reviewing the provision of adoption support services. | |
(7) The regulations may in particular make provision— | |
(a) as to the circumstances in which a person mentioned in paragraph (b) | |
of subsection (1) is to have a right to request an assessment of his needs | |
in accordance with that subsection, | 45 |
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(b) about the type of assessment which, or the way in which an assessment, | |
is to be carried out, | |
(c) about the way in which a plan is to be prepared, | |
(d) about the way in which, and time at which, a plan or the provision of | |
adoption support services is to be reviewed, | 5 |
(e) about the considerations to which a local authority are to have regard | |
in carrying out an assessment or review or preparing a plan, | |
(f) as to the circumstances in which a local authority may provide | |
adoption support services subject to conditions, | |
(g) as to the consequences of conditions imposed by virtue of paragraph (f) | 10 |
not being met (including the recovery of any financial support | |
provided by a local authority), | |
(h) as to the circumstances in which this section may apply to a local | |
authority in respect of persons who are outside that local authority’s | |
area, | 15 |
(i) as to the circumstances in which a local authority may recover from | |
another local authority the expenses of providing adoption support | |
services to any person. | |
(8) A local authority may carry out an assessment of the needs of any person under | |
this section at the same time as an assessment of his needs is made under any | 20 |
other enactment. | |
(9) If at any time during the assessment of the needs of any person under this | |
section, it appears to a local authority that— | |
(a) there may be a need for the provision of services to that person by a | |
Health Authority or Primary Care Trust, or | 25 |
(b) there may be a need for the provision to him of any services which fall | |
within the functions of a local education authority (within the meaning | |
of the Education Act 1996 (c. 56)), | |
the local authority must notify that Health Authority, Primary Care Trust or | |
local education authority. | 30 |
(10) Where it appears to a local authority that another local authority could, by | |
taking any specified action, help in the exercise of any of their functions under | |
this section, they may request the help of that other local authority, specifying | |
the action in question. | |
(11) A local authority whose help is so requested must comply with the request if it | 35 |
is consistent with the exercise of their functions. | |
5 Local authority plans for adoption services | |
(1) Each local authority must prepare a plan for the provision of the services | |
maintained under section 3(1) and secure that it is published. | |
(2) The plan must contain information of a description prescribed by regulations | 40 |
(subject to subsection (4)(b)). | |
(3) The regulations may make provision requiring local authorities— | |
(a) to review any plan, | |
(b) in the circumstances prescribed by the regulations, to modify that plan | |
and secure its publication or to prepare a plan in substitution for that | 45 |
plan and secure its publication. | |
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(4) The appropriate Minister may direct— | |
(a) that a plan is to be included in another document specified in the | |
direction, | |
(b) that the requirements specified in the direction as to the description of | |
information to be contained in a plan are to have effect in place of the | 5 |
provision made by regulations under subsection (2). | |
(5) Directions may be given by the appropriate Minister for the purpose of making | |
provision in connection with any duty imposed by virtue of this section | |
including, in particular, provision as to— | |
(a) the form and manner in which, and the time at which, any plan is to be | 10 |
published, | |
(b) the description of persons who are to be consulted in the preparation of | |
any plan, | |
(c) the time at which any plan is to be reviewed. | |
(6) Subsections (2) to (5) apply in relation to a modified or substituted plan (or | 15 |
further modified or substituted plan) as they apply in relation to a plan | |
prepared under subsection (1). | |
(7) Directions given under this section may relate— | |
(a) to a particular local authority, | |
(b) to any class or description of local authorities, or | 20 |
(c) except in the case of a direction given under subsection (4)(b), to local | |
authorities generally, | |
and accordingly different provision may be made in relation to different local | |
authorities or classes or descriptions of local authorities. | |
6 Arrangements on cancellation of registration | 25 |
Where, by virtue of the cancellation of its registration under Part 2 of the Care | |
Standards Act 2000 (c. 14), a body has ceased to be a registered adoption | |
society, the appropriate Minister may direct the body to make such | |
arrangements as to the transfer of its functions relating to children and other | |
transitional matters as seem to him expedient. | 30 |
7 Inactive or defunct adoption societies etc. | |
(1) This section applies where it appears to the appropriate Minister that— | |
(a) a body which is or has been a registered adoption society is inactive or | |
defunct, or | |
(b) a body which has ceased to be a registered adoption society by virtue | 35 |
of the cancellation of its registration under Part 2 of the Care Standards | |
Act 2000 (c. 14) has not made such arrangements for the transfer of its | |
functions relating to children as are specified in a direction given by | |
him. | |
(2) The appropriate Minister may, in relation to such functions of the society as | 40 |
relate to children, direct what appears to him to be the appropriate local | |
authority to take any such action as might have been taken by the society or by | |
the society jointly with the authority. | |
(3) A local authority are entitled to take any action which— | |
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(a) apart from this subsection the authority would not be entitled to take, | |
or would not be entitled to take without joining the society in the action, | |
but | |
(b) they are directed to take under subsection (2). | |
(4) The appropriate Minister may charge the society for expenses necessarily | 5 |
incurred by him or on his behalf in securing the transfer of its functions relating | |
to children. | |
(5) Before giving a direction under subsection (2) the appropriate Minister must, | |
if practicable, consult both the society and the authority. | |
8 Adoption support agencies | 10 |
(1) In this Act, “adoption support agency” means an undertaking the purpose of | |
which, or one of the purposes of which, is the provision of adoption support | |
services; but an undertaking is not an adoption support agency— | |
(a) merely because it provides information in connection with adoption, or | |
(b) if it is excepted by virtue of subsection (2). | 15 |
“Undertaking” has the same meaning as in the Care Standards Act 2000 (c. | |
14). | |
(2) The following are excepted— | |
(a) a registered adoption society, whether or not the society is registered in | |
respect of the provision of adoption support services, | 20 |
(b) a local authority, | |
(c) a local education authority (within the meaning of the Education Act | |
1996 (c. 56)), | |
(d) a Health Authority, Special Health Authority, Primary Care Trust or | |
NHS trust, | 25 |
(e) the Registrar General, | |
(f) any person, or description of persons, excepted by regulations. | |
(3) In section 4 of the Care Standards Act 2000 (c. 14) (basic definitions)— | |
(a) after subsection (7) there is inserted— | |
“(7A) “Adoption support agency” has the meaning given by section 8 | 30 |
of the Adoption and Children Act 2002.”, | |
(b) in subsection (9)(a) (construction of references to descriptions of | |
agencies), for “or a voluntary adoption agency” there is substituted “a | |
voluntary adoption agency or an adoption support agency.” | |
Regulations | 35 |
9 General power to regulate adoption etc. agencies | |
(1) Regulations may make provision for any purpose relating to— | |
(a) the exercise by local authorities or voluntary adoption agencies of their | |
functions in relation to adoption, or | |
(b) the exercise by adoption support agencies of their functions in relation | 40 |
to adoption support services. | |
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