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131 Adoption and fostering: criminal records | |
(1) Part 5 of the Police Act 1997 (c. 50) (certificates of criminal records) is amended | |
as follows. | |
(2) In section 113 (criminal record certificates), in subsection (3A), for “his | |
suitability” there is substituted “the suitability of the applicant, or of a person | 5 |
living in the same household as the applicant, to be a foster parent or”. | |
(3) In section 115 (enhanced criminal record certificates), in subsection (6A), for | |
“his suitability” there is substituted “the suitability of the applicant, or of a | |
person living in the same household as the applicant, to be a foster parent or”. | |
132 Payment of grants in connection with welfare services | 10 |
(1) Section 93 of the Local Government Act 2000 (c. 22) (payment of grants for | |
welfare services) is amended as follows. | |
(2) In subsection (1) (payment of grants by the Secretary of State), for the words | |
from “in providing” to the end there is substituted— | |
“(a) in providing, or contributing to the provision of, such welfare | 15 |
services as may be determined by the Secretary of State, or | |
(b) in connection with any such welfare services.” | |
(3) In subsection (2) (payment of grants by the Assembly), for the words from “in | |
providing” to the end there is substituted— | |
“(a) in providing, or contributing to the provision of, such welfare | 20 |
services as may be determined by the Assembly, or | |
(b) in connection with any such welfare services.” | |
(4) After subsection (6) there is inserted— | |
“(6A) Before making any determination under subsection (3) or (5) the | |
Secretary of State must obtain the consent of the Treasury.” | 25 |
133 Extension of the Convention to British overseas territories | |
(1) Her Majesty may by Order in Council provide for giving effect to the | |
Convention in any British overseas territory. | |
(2) An Order in Council under subsection (1) in respect of any British overseas | |
territory may, in particular, make any provision corresponding to provision | 30 |
which in relation to any part of Great Britain is made by the Adoption | |
(Intercountry Aspects) Act 1999 (c. 18) or may be made by regulations under | |
section 1 of that Act. | |
(3) The British Nationality Act 1981 (c. 61) is amended as follows. | |
(4) In section 1 (acquisition of British citizenship by birth or adoption)— | 35 |
(a) in subsection (5), at the end of paragraph (b) there is inserted “effected | |
under the law of a country or territory outside the United Kingdom”, | |
(b) at the end of subsection (5A)(b) there is inserted “or in a designated | |
territory”, | |
(c) in subsection (8), the words following “section 50” are omitted. | 40 |
(5) In section 15 (acquisition of British overseas territories citizenship)— | |
(a) after subsection (5) there is inserted— | |
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“(5A) Where— | |
(a) a minor who is not a British overseas territories citizen is | |
adopted under a Convention adoption, | |
(b) on the date on which the adoption is effected— | |
(i) the adopter or, in the case of a joint adoption, one | 5 |
of the adopters is a British overseas territories | |
citizen, and | |
(ii) the adopter or, in the case of a joint adoption, | |
both of the adopters are habitually resident in a | |
designated territory, and | 10 |
(c) the Convention adoption is effected under the law of a | |
country or territory outside the designated territory, | |
the minor shall be a British overseas territories citizen as from | |
that date.”, | |
(b) in subsection (6), after “order” there is inserted “or a Convention | 15 |
adoption”. | |
(6) In section 50 (interpretation), in subsection (1)— | |
(a) after the definition of “company” there is inserted— | |
““Convention adoption” means an adoption effected under the | |
law of a country or territory in which the Convention is in | 20 |
force, and certified in pursuance of Article 23(1) of the | |
Convention”, | |
(b) after the definition of “Crown service under the government of the | |
United Kingdom” there is inserted— | |
““designated territory” means a qualifying territory, or the | 25 |
Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia, which is | |
designated by Her Majesty by Order in Council under | |
subsection (14)”. | |
(7) After subsection (13) of that section there is inserted— | |
“(14) For the purposes of the definition of “designated territory” in | 30 |
subsection (1), an Order in Council may— | |
(a) designate any qualifying territory, or the Sovereign Base Areas | |
of Akrotiri and Dhekelia, if the Convention is in force there, and | |
(b) make different designations for the purposes of section 1 and | |
section 15; | 35 |
and, for the purposes of this subsection and the definition of | |
“Convention adoption” in subsection (1), “the Convention” means the | |
Convention on the Protection of Children and Co-operation in respect | |
of Intercountry Adoption, concluded at the Hague on 29th May 1993. | |
An Order in Council under this subsection shall be subject to | 40 |
annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.” | |
134 Proceedings in Great Britain | |
Proceedings for an offence by virtue of section 9, 59, 92, 93, 94 or 125— | |
(a) may not be brought more than six years after the commission of the | |
offence but, subject to that, | 45 |
(b) may be brought within a period of six months from the date on which | |
evidence sufficient in the opinion of the prosecutor to warrant the | |
proceedings came to his knowledge. | |
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In relation to Scotland, “the prosecutor” is to be read as “the | |
procurator fiscal” . | |
Amendments, etc. | |
135 Amendments, transitional and transitory provisions, savings and repeals | |
(1) Schedule 3 (minor and consequential amendments) is to have effect. | 5 |
(2) Schedule 4 (transitional and transitory provisions and savings) is to have effect. | |
(3) The enactments set out in Schedule 5 are repealed to the extent specified. | |
Chapter 2 | |
Final provisions | |
136 Orders, rules and regulations | 10 |
(1) Any power to make subordinate legislation conferred by this Act on the Lord | |
Chancellor, the Secretary of State, the Scottish Ministers, the Assembly or the | |
Registrar General is exercisable by statutory instrument. | |
(2) A statutory instrument containing subordinate legislation made under any | |
provision of this Act (other than section 14 or 144 or an instrument to which | 15 |
subsection (3) applies) is to be subject to annulment in pursuance of a | |
resolution of either House of Parliament. | |
(3) A statutory instrument containing subordinate legislation— | |
(a) under section 91(6), 93 or 119(6), or | |
(b) which adds to, replaces or omits any part of the text of an Act, | 20 |
is not to be made unless a draft of the instrument has been laid before, and | |
approved by resolution of, each House of Parliament. | |
(4) Subsections (2) and (3) do not apply to an Order in Council or to subordinate | |
legislation made— | |
(a) by the Scottish Ministers, or | 25 |
(b) by the Assembly, unless made jointly by the Secretary of State and the | |
Assembly. | |
(5) A statutory instrument containing regulations under section 63(2) made by the | |
Scottish Ministers is to be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of | |
the Scottish Parliament. | 30 |
(6) The power of the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to | |
make regulations under section 63(2) is to be exercisable by statutory rule for | |
the purposes of the Statutory Rules (Northern Ireland) Order 1979; and any | |
such regulations are to be subject to negative resolution within the meaning of | |
section 41(6) of the Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954 as if they were | 35 |
statutory instruments within the meaning of that Act. | |
(7) Subordinate legislation made under this Act may make different provision for | |
different purposes. | |
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(8) A power to make subordinate legislation under this Act (as well as being | |
exercisable in relation to all cases to which it extends) may be exercised in | |
relation to— | |
(a) those cases subject to specified exceptions, or | |
(b) a particular case or class of case. | 5 |
(9) In this section, “subordinate legislation” does not include a direction. | |
137 Rules of procedure | |
(1) The Lord Chancellor may make rules in respect of any matter to be prescribed | |
by rules made by virtue of this Act and dealing generally with all matters of | |
procedure. | 10 |
(2) Subsection (1) does not apply in relation to proceedings before magistrates’ | |
courts, but the power to make rules conferred by section 144 of the Magistrates’ | |
Courts Act 1980 (c. 43) includes power to make provision in respect of any of | |
the matters mentioned in that subsection. | |
(3) In the case of an application for a placement order, for the variation or | 15 |
revocation of such an order, or for an adoption order, the rules must require | |
any person mentioned in subsection (4) to be notified— | |
(a) of the date and place where the application will be heard, and | |
(b) of the fact that, unless the person wishes or the court requires, the | |
person need not attend. | 20 |
(4) The persons referred to in subsection (3) are— | |
(a) in the case of a placement order, every person who can be found whose | |
consent to the making of the order is required under subsection (3)(a) | |
of section 21 (or would be required but for subsection (3)(b) of that | |
section) or, if no such person can be found, any relative prescribed by | 25 |
rules who can be found, | |
(b) in the case of a variation or revocation of a placement order, every | |
person who can be found whose consent to the making of the | |
placement order was required under subsection (3)(a) of section 21 (or | |
would have been required but for subsection (3)(b) of that section), | 30 |
(c) in the case of an adoption order— | |
(i) every person who can be found whose consent to the making of | |
the order is required under subsection (2)(a) of section 47 (or | |
would be required but for subsection (2)(c) of that section) or, if | |
no such person can be found, any relative prescribed by rules | 35 |
who can be found, | |
(ii) every person who has consented to the making of the order | |
under section 20 (and has not withdrawn the consent) unless he | |
has given a notice under subsection (4)(a) of that section which | |
has effect, | 40 |
(iii) every person who, if leave were given under section 47(5), | |
would be entitled to oppose the making of the order. | |
(5) Rules made in respect of magistrates’ courts may provide— | |
(a) for enabling any fact tending to establish the identity of a child with a | |
child to whom a document relates to be proved by affidavit, and | 45 |
(b) for excluding or restricting in relation to any facts that may be so | |
proved the power of a justice of the peace to compel the attendance of | |
witnesses. | |
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