The Children (Leaving Care) (Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2004

Welsh Statutory Instruments

2004 No. 1732 (W.175)

CHILDREN AND YOUNG PERSONS, WALES

The Children (Leaving Care) (Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2004

Made

6 July 2004

Coming into force

23 July 2004

The National Assembly for Wales, in exercise of powers conferred by sections 23A(3) and section 104(4) of the Children Act 1989(1), hereby makes the following regulations:

Citation, commencement, interpretation and application

1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Children (Leaving Care) (Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2004.

(2) These Regulations come into force on 23 July 2004.

(3) In these Regulations “the Principal Regulations” (“y Prif Reoliadau”) means the Children (Leaving Care)(Wales) Regulations 2001(2).

(4) These Regulations apply to Wales only.

Amendment of the regulation 4 of the Principal Regulations

2.—(1) In paragraph 4(2) of the Principal Regulations, at the beginning of the sentence, and before the words “Any child”, insert the words “Subject to paragraph 2A,”.

(2) In regulation 4 of the Principal Regulations, after paragraph (2), insert the following paragraph

“(2A) In calculating the period of 13 weeks referred to in subparagraph (2)(b), no account is to be taken of any period in which the child was looked after in a series of short-term placements none of which individually exceeds four weeks, where, at the end of each such placement, the child returned to the care of his parent, or a person who is not a parent but who has parental responsibility for him.”.

Signed on behalf of the National Assembly for Wales under section 66(1) of the Government of Wales Act 1998(3)

D. Elis-Thomas

The Presiding Officer of the National Assembly

6 July 2004

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations make a minor amendment to The Children (Leaving Care) (Wales) Regulations 2001 (“the Principal Regulations”).

The Principal Regulations prescribe certain additional categories of children and young people for whom Local Authorities must provide services and certain categories of children who are excluded from eligibility for the services.

These Regulations make a minor alteration to exclude certain children and young persons from one of the additional categories. These are children who would be eligible as “relevant children” (as defined in section 23A of the Children Act 1989) by virtue of being in hospital or in a form of detention on attaining the age of 16 and by having had a qualifying period of accommodation by a local authority, but where the qualifying period is made up entirely of short placements after which the child returned home.

(1)

1989 c. 41 Section 23A is inserted by the Children (Leaving Care) Act 2000 (c. 35). The functions of the Secretary of State under these provisions are transferred to the National Assembly for Wales in relation to Wales by virtue of article 2 of the National Assembly for Wales (Transfer of Functions) Order 1999 (S.I. 1999/672) and section 8(7) of the 2000 Act.

(2)

S.I. 2001/2189 (W. 151).

(3)

1998 c. 38.