Legislation update august 2010
Community Care Inform's legal expert, Ed Mitchell, has updated the legislation on the site. Please see below for a guide to what has changed with links straight through to the relevant part of the statute.
Safeguarding
Children's Trusts in England nowhave express statutory underpinning. Amendments made to the Children Act 2004by the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009 provide the newlegal foundations for Children's Trust arrangements. The Inform guide to the ChildrenAct 2004 has been updated with an explanation of the effect of the newprovisions and links to the new regulations which fine-tune theiroperation.
Children's Trust Boards, rather than LocalSafeguarding Children Boards, are now responsible for producing Children andYoung People's Plans for their areas. For further details, including theregulations which set out the required content for plans, see section17 of the Inform guide to the Children Act 2004. Also, members of theChildren's Trust Board are now statutorily required to have regards to theplans (see section17A of the Inform guide to the Children Act 2004).
The membership of Local Safeguarding ChildrenBoards in Englandhas been expanded. As a result of amendments made to the Children Act 2004 bythe Apprenticeships etc Act 2009, LSCBs should now include amongst theirmembership two representatives of the local community. Also, the LSCB regulationshave been amended so that boards should now also include representatives ofeducation providers, such as maintained schools, in the board's area. Forfurther details, see section13 of the guide to the Children Act 2004.
LSCBs in England also now have to produceannual reports. Amendments to the Children Act 2004, made by theApprenticeships etc. Act 2009, mean that LSCBs must now publish an annualreport about their activities. For further details, see section14A of the Inform guide to the Children Act 2004.
Fostering and Adoption
Adoptions from Nepal are suspended as a result ofa statutory Order made under the Children & Adoption Act 2006. To accessthe order, see section9 of the Inform guide to the Children & Adoption Act 2006.
Care Standards
"Stop notices" can now served onproviders of children's homes, and residential family centres, in England and Wales. The effect of the notice isto prohibit the home or centre from admitting any new children. The power toissue such notices is contained in section22B of the Care Standards Act 2000 (inserted in that Act by the Childrenand Young Persons Act 2008) which came into force in April 2010. In England, notices are issued by OFSTED and, in Wales, by theCare and Social Services Inspectorate Wales.
Childcare
Local authorities in England are now obliged to haveChildren's (or Sure Start) centres. There must also be an advisory board foreach centre. These obligations are contained in a number of sections insertedin the ChildcareAct 2006 by the Apprenticeships,Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009.
A new category of exempt child-minding has been created (iechild-minding which does not require registration with Ofsted). It is comprisedof childminding for thechildren of friends where this is not provided in return for a payment of moneyor money's worth. The exemption is contained in amendments made to the Childcare(Exemptions from Registration) Order 2008. The Order, as amended, is availableat section33 of theInform guide to the Childcare Act 2006.
Wales
Welsh foster carers (actual and prospective) havenew rights to challenge decisions made about them, for example a decision thata carer is not suitable to foster a particular child. The process is set out inthe Independent Review of Determinations (Adoption & Fostering) (Wales)Regulations 2010 which are available here.
The regulations setting out the required contentsof Single Education Plans and Children and Young People's Plans in Wales have beenamended. The regulations, as amended, are available at section26 of the Inform guide to the Children Act 2004.
Isles of Scilly
And finally, statutory Orders have been made sothat functions of local authorities under the Adoption & Children Act 2002and Children Act 1989 are also functions of the Council of the Isles of Scilly.To access the Orders, go to section141 of the Inform guide to the Adoption & Children Act 2002 and section108 of the Inform guide to the Children Act 1989.
