The Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1995

Advice and assistance for certain children

35.—(1) Where a child is being looked after by an authority, the authority shall advise, assist and befriend him with a view to promoting his welfare when he ceases to be looked after by the authority.

(2) In this Part “a person qualifying for advice and assistance” means a person within the authority’s area who is under 21 and who was at any time after reaching the age of 16 but while still a child—

(a) looked after by an authority;

(b) accommodated by or on behalf of a voluntary organisation;

(c) accommodated in a registered children’s home;

(d) accommodated for a consecutive period of at least three months in—

(i) any accommodation provided by an education and library board; or

(ii) any residential care home; or

(iii) any hospital; or

(iv) any nursing home; or

(v) any prescribed accommodation; or

(e) privately fostered;

but who is no longer so looked after, accommodated or fostered.

(3) Paragraph (2)(d) applies even if the period of three months mentioned there began before the child reached the age of 16.

(4) Where—

(a) an authority knows that there is within its area a person qualifying for advice and assistance;

(b) the conditions in paragraph (5) are satisfied; and

(c) that person has asked the authority for help of a kind which the authority can give under this Article,

the authority shall (if he was being looked after by an authority or was accommodated by or on behalf of a voluntary organisation) and may (in any other case) advise and befriend him.

(5) The conditions are that—

(a) it appears to the authority that the person concerned is in need of advice and being befriended;

(b) where that person was not being looked after by the authority, the authority is satisfied that the person by whom he was being looked after does not have the necessary facilities for advising or befriending him.

(6) Where as a result of this Article an authority is under a duty, or is empowered, to advise and befriend a person, the authority may also give him assistance.