5(1)The Adoption Act 1976 shall be amended as follows.
(2)In section 1 (establishment of adoption service)—
(a)in subsections (1), (3) and (4), for “approved adoption societies” and “approved adoption society”, in each place where those words occur, there shall be substituted, respectively, “ appropriate voluntary organisation ” and “ appropriate voluntary organisations ”; and
(b)after subsection (4) there shall be inserted—
“(5)In this Act “appropriate voluntary organisation” means a voluntary organisation which is an adoption society in respect of which a person is registered under Part II of the Care Standards Act 2000.”
(3)In section 2 (local authorities’ social services), in paragraph (a), for “registered” there shall be substituted “ private ” and for “residential care, nursing or mental nursing homes or in independent schools” there shall be substituted “ care homes, independent hospitals or schools ”.
(4)In section 4(3) of that Act (power of Secretary of State to make directions where approval of adoption society is withdrawn or expires), for the words from “Where” to “expires” there shall be substituted “ Where, by virtue of the cancellation of the registration of any person under Part II of the Care Standards Act 2000, a body has ceased to be an appropriate voluntary organisation ”.
(5)In section 8 (inactive or defunct adoption societies)—
(a)in subsection (1), for the words from “an approved” to “expired” there shall be substituted “ a body which is or has been an appropriate voluntary organisation ”; and
(b)for “society”, in each place where it occurs, there shall be substituted “ organisation ”.
(6)In section 9 (regulation of adoption agencies)—
(a)in subsection (2), for “an approved adoption society” there shall be substituted “ an appropriate voluntary organisation ”;
(b)after that subsection there shall be inserted—
“(2A)The power under subsection (2) includes in particular power to make in relation to an appropriate voluntary organisation any provision which regulations under section 22(2) or (7) of the Care Standards Act 2000 (regulation of establishments and agencies) may make in relation to a fostering agency (within the meaning of that Act).”;
(c)after subsection (3) there shall be inserted—
“(3A)The power under subsection (3) includes in particular power to make in relation to the functions there mentioned any provision which regulations under section 48 of the Care Standards Act 2000 (regulation of the exercise of relevant fostering functions) may make in relation to relevant fostering functions (within the meaning of Part III of that Act).”;
and
(d)in subsection (4), after “(2)” there shall be inserted “ or (3) ”.
(7)In section 11 (restriction on arranging adoptions and placing of children)—
(a)in subsection (2), for “approved under section 3 of this Act” there shall be substituted “ an appropriate voluntary organisation ”; and
(b)in subsection (3)(a), for “which is not an adoption agency” there shall be substituted “which is not—
(i)a local authority; or
(ii)a voluntary adoption agency within the meaning of the Care Standards Act 2000 in respect of which he is registered;”.
(8)In section 32 (meaning of “protected child”)—
(a)in subsection (3)(a)(i), for “community home, voluntary home or registered children’s home” there shall be substituted “ children’s home in respect of which a person is registered under Part II of the Care Standards Act 2000 ”; and
(b)in subsection (3A), for “ “community home”, “voluntary home”, “registered children’s home”” there shall be substituted “ “children’s home” ”.
(9)For section 51(3)(d)(i) there shall be substituted—
“(i)which is an appropriate voluntary organisation”.
(10)In section 58A(1) (information concerning adoption), for “approved adoption society” there shall be substituted “ appropriate voluntary organisation ”.
(11)In section 72(1) (interpretation), for the definition of “approved adoption society” there shall be substituted—
““appropriate voluntary organisation” has the meaning assigned by section 1(5);”
Commencement Information
I1Sch. 4 para. 5 partly in force; Sch. 4 para. 5 not in force at Royal Assent see s. 122; Sch. 4 para. 5(6) in force for W. at 1.7.2001 by S.I. 2001/2190, art. 2, Sch. Table; Sch. 4 para. 5(1)(3)(8) in force for E. at 1.4.2002 by S.I. 2001/4150, arts. 1(2), 3(2)(3)(a) (subject to transitional provisions in art. 4 and in S.I. 2002/1493, art. 4) (as amended by S.I. 2002/1493, art. 6); Sch. 4 para. 5(1)(3)(8) in force for W. at 1.4.2002 by S.I. 2002/920, arts. 1(4), 3(3) (subject to art. 3(4)-(10) and to transitional provisions in Schs. 1-3); Sch. 4 para. 5(2)(4)(5)(7)(a)(9)-(11) in force for W. at 30.1.2003 by S.I. 2003/152, art. 2(1); Sch. 4 para. 5(2)(b)(6)(a)-(c) in force for E. for certain purposes at 24.2.2003 and para. 5 in force for E. so far as not already in force (other than in relation to para. 5(6)(d)(7)(b)) at 30.4.2003 by S.I. 2003/365, art. 3(2)(5)