- Latest available (Revised)
- Original (As enacted)
Adoption and Children Act 2002, Section 102 is up to date with all changes known to be in force on or before 10 September 2024. There are changes that may be brought into force at a future date. Changes that have been made appear in the content and are referenced with annotations.
Revised legislation carried on this site may not be fully up to date. Changes and effects are recorded by our editorial team in lists which can be found in the ‘Changes to Legislation’ area. Where those effects have yet to be applied to the text of the legislation by the editorial team they are also listed alongside the legislation in the affected provisions. Use the ‘more’ link to open the changes and effects relevant to the provision you are viewing.
Whole provisions yet to be inserted into this Act (including any effects on those provisions):
(1)For the purposes of—
(a)any relevant application,
(b)the signification by any person of any consent to placement or adoption,
rules must provide for the appointment in prescribed cases of an officer of the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (“the Service”) [F1or a Welsh family proceedings officer].
(2)The rules may provide for the appointment of such an officer in other circumstances in which it appears to the Lord Chancellor to be necessary or expedient to do so.
(3)The rules may provide for the officer—
(a)to act on behalf of the child upon the hearing of any relevant application, with the duty of safeguarding the interests of the child in the prescribed manner,
(b)where the court so requests, to prepare a report on matters relating to the welfare of the child in question,
(c)to witness documents which signify consent to placement or adoption,
(d)to perform prescribed functions.
(4)A report prepared in pursuance of the rules on matters relating to the welfare of a child must—
(a)deal with prescribed matters (unless the court orders otherwise), and
(b)be made in the manner required by the court.
(5)A person who—
(a)in the case of an application for the making, varying or revocation of a placement order, is employed by the local authority which made the application,
(b)in the case of an application for an adoption order in respect of a child who was placed for adoption, is employed by the adoption agency which placed him, or
(c)is within a prescribed description,
is not to be appointed under subsection (1) or (2).
(6)In this section, “relevant application” means an application for—
(a)the making, varying or revocation of a placement order,
(b)the making of an order under section 26, or the varying or revocation of such an order,
(c)the making of an adoption order, or
(d)the making of an order under section 84.
(7)Rules may make provision as to the assistance which the court may require an officer of the Service [F2or a Welsh family proceedings officer] to give to it.
[F3(8)In this section and section 103 “Welsh family proceedings officer” has the meaning given by section 35 of the Children Act 2004.]
Textual Amendments
F1Words in s. 102(1) inserted (1.4.2005) by Children Act 2004 (c. 31), s. 67(6), Sch. 3 para. 16(1)(2); S.I. 2005/700, art. 2(2)
F2Words in s. 102(7) inserted (1.4.2005) by Children Act 2004 (c. 31), s. 67(6), Sch. 3 para. 16(1)(3); S.I. 2005/700, art. 2(2)
F3S. 102(8) inserted (1.4.2005) by Children Act 2004 (c. 31), s. 67(6), Sch. 3 para. 16(1)(4); S.I. 2005/700, art. 2(2)
Modifications etc. (not altering text)
C1S. 102(1)-(4) applied (with modifications) (6.4.2010) by The Human Fertilisation and Embryology (Parental Orders) Regulations 2010 (S.I. 2010/985), regs. 1(1), 2, Sch. 1
C2S. 102(6)-(8) applied (with modifications) (6.4.2010) by The Human Fertilisation and Embryology (Parental Orders) Regulations 2010 (S.I. 2010/985), regs. 1(1), 2, Sch. 1
Commencement Information
I1S. 102 in force at 30.12.2005 by S.I. 2005/2213, art. 2(i) (with savings and transitional provisions in S.I. 2005/2897, arts. 3-16)
The Whole Act you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download. You may also experience some issues with your browser, such as an alert box that a script is taking a long time to run.
Would you like to continue?
The Whole Act you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download.
Would you like to continue?
The Whole Act you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download. You may also experience some issues with your browser, such as an alert box that a script is taking a long time to run.
Would you like to continue?
Latest Available (revised):The latest available updated version of the legislation incorporating changes made by subsequent legislation and applied by our editorial team. Changes we have not yet applied to the text, can be found in the ‘Changes to Legislation’ area.
Original (As Enacted or Made): The original version of the legislation as it stood when it was enacted or made. No changes have been applied to the text.
Geographical Extent: Indicates the geographical area that this provision applies to. For further information see ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.
Show Timeline of Changes: See how this legislation has or could change over time. Turning this feature on will show extra navigation options to go to these specific points in time. Return to the latest available version by using the controls above in the What Version box.
Text created by the government department responsible for the subject matter of the Act to explain what the Act sets out to achieve and to make the Act accessible to readers who are not legally qualified. Explanatory Notes were introduced in 1999 and accompany all Public Acts except Appropriation, Consolidated Fund, Finance and Consolidation Acts.
Access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item from this tab. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:
This timeline shows the different points in time where a change occurred. The dates will coincide with the earliest date on which the change (e.g an insertion, a repeal or a substitution) that was applied came into force. The first date in the timeline will usually be the earliest date when the provision came into force. In some cases the first date is 01/02/1991 (or for Northern Ireland legislation 01/01/2006). This date is our basedate. No versions before this date are available. For further information see the Editorial Practice Guide and Glossary under Help.
Use this menu to access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:
Click 'View More' or select 'More Resources' tab for additional information including: