The Adoption Agencies and Independent Review of Determinations (Amendment) Regulations 2011

Amendment of the Adoption Agencies Regulations 2005

2.  For regulations 3 to 10 (adoption agency – arrangements for adoption work) of the Adoption Agencies Regulations 2005(1) substitute—

“The central list

3.— (1) Subject to regulation 5, an adoption agency(2) must maintain a list of persons who are considered by it to be suitable to be members of an adoption panel (“the central list”), including—

(a) one or more social workers who have at least three years’ relevant post-qualifying experience, and

(b) the medical adviser to the adoption agency (or at least one if more than one medical adviser is appointed).

(2) A person who is included in the central list may at any time ask to be removed from the central list by giving one month’s notice in writing.

(3) Where the adoption agency is of the opinion that a person included in the central list is unsuitable or unable to remain in the list the agency may remove that person’s name from the list by giving them one month’s notice in writing with reasons.

Constituting an adoption panel

4.— (1) The adoption agency must constitute one or more adoption panels, as necessary, to perform the functions of an adoption panel under these Regulations(3) and must appoint the panel members from the persons in the central list including—

(a) a person to chair the panel, being an independent person, who has the skills and experience necessary for chairing an adoption panel, and

(b) one or two persons who may act as chair if the person appointed to chair the panel is absent or that office is vacant (“the vice chairs”).

(2) The adoption agency must ensure that an adoption panel has sufficient members, and that individual members have between them the experience and expertise necessary to effectively discharge the functions of the panel.

(3) Any two or more local authorities may jointly constitute an adoption panel (“a joint adoption panel”) in which case the appointment of members must be by agreement between the authorities.

(4) A local authority may pay to any member of an adoption panel constituted by it such fee as it may determine, being a fee of a reasonable amount.

(5) Any adoption panel member may resign at any time by giving one month’s notice in writing to the adoption agency which appointed them.

(6) Where an adoption agency is of the opinion that any member of the adoption panel appointed by it is unsuitable or unable to continue as a panel member, it may terminate that member’s appointment at any time by giving the member notice in writing with reasons.

(7) A person (“P”) is not an independent person for the purposes of this regulation and regulation 6 if—

(a) in the case of a registered adoption society, P is a trustee or employee of that society, or

(b) in the case of a local authority, P—

(i) is an elected member of that authority, or

(ii) is employed by that authority for the purposes of the adoption service or for the purposes of any of that local authority’s functions relating to the protection or placement of children, or

(c) P is the adoptive parent of a child who was—

(i) placed for adoption with P by the adoption agency (“agency A”), or

(ii) placed for adoption with P by another adoption agency where P had been approved as suitable to be an adoptive parent by agency A,

unless at least 12 months has elapsed since the adoption order was made in respect of the child.

Adoption agencies operating only for certain purposes

5.   Where an adoption agency operates only for the purpose of putting persons into contact with other adoption agencies and for the purpose of putting such agencies into contact with each other or for either of such purposes, regulations 3, 4, 8 and, to the extent that it requires consultation with persons in the central list, regulation 7 shall not apply to such an agency.

Meetings of adoption panel

6.— (1) No business may be conducted by an adoption panel unless at least the following meet as the panel—

(a) either the person appointed to chair the panel or one of the vice chairs,

(b) one person falling within regulation 3(1)(a),

(c) three, or in the case of an adoption panel established under regulation 4(3) four, other members and where the chair is not present and the vice chair is not an independent person, at least one other panel member must be an independent person.

(2) An adoption panel must make a written record of its proceedings, its recommendations and the reasons for its recommendations.

Adoption agency arrangements for adoption work

7.   An adoption agency must, in consultation with such persons in the central list as the agency considers appropriate and, to the extent specified in regulation 8(4) with the agency’s medical adviser, prepare and implement written policy and procedural instructions governing the exercise of the functions of the agency and an adoption panel in relation to adoption and such instructions shall be kept under review and, where appropriate, revised by the agency.

Requirement to appoint an agency adviser and a medical adviser

8.— (1) The adoption agency must appoint a senior member of staff, or where local authorities agree to constitute joint adoption panels as necessary appoint a senior member of staff of one of them, (referred to in this regulation as the “agency adviser”)—

(a) to assist the agency with the maintenance of the central list and the constitution of adoption panels,

(b) to be responsible for the induction and training of persons in the central list,

(c) to be responsible for liaison between the agency and an adoption panel, monitoring the performance of persons in the central list and members of the adoption panel and the administration of adoption panels, and

(d) to give such advice to an adoption panel as the panel may request in relation to any case or generally.

(2) The agency adviser must be a social worker and have at least five years’ relevant post-qualification experience and, in the opinion of the adoption agency, relevant management experience.

(3) The adoption agency must appoint at least one registered medical practitioner to be the agency’s medical adviser.

(4) The medical adviser shall be consulted in relation to the arrangements for access to, and disclosure of, health information which is required or permitted by virtue of these Regulations.”.

(1)

S.I. 2005/389; amended by S.I. 2005/3482, 2007/603, 2009/1892, 2009/1895 and 2010/1172.

(2)

Section 2(1) of the Adoption and Children Act 2002 provides that a local authority or registered adoption society may be referred to as an adoption agency. A registered adoption society is defined in section 2(2) as meaning a voluntary organisation which is an adoption society registered under Part 2 of the Care Standards Act 2000 (c.14).

(3)

Regulation 18 of the Adoption Agencies Regulations 2005 requires the adoption panel to consider cases of children referred to it by the adoption agency and make a recommendation to the agency as to whether the child should be placed for adoption. Regulation 26 requires the panel to consider cases of prospective adopters referred to it by the adoption agency and make a recommendation to the agency as to whether the prospective adopter is suitable to adopt a child, and under regulation 29 the adoption panel must make a recommendation on a review of a prospective adopter’s approval as to whether that person continues to be suitable to adopt a child. Regulation 32 requires the panel to consider proposed placements that are referred to it by the agency and make a recommendation as to whether the child should be placed for adoption with that particular prospective adopter.