SCHEDULES

SCHEDULE 4Transitional and transitory provisions and savings

Adoption support services

1

1

The facilities to be provided by an HSC trust as part of the service maintained under Article 3(1) of the Adoption (Northern Ireland) Order 1987 include such arrangements as a trust may be required by regulations to make for the provision of adoption support services to prescribed persons.

2

Regulations under sub-paragraph (1) may require an HSC trust—

a

at the request of a prescribed person, to carry out an assessment of the person’s needs for adoption support services,

b

if, as a result of the assessment, a trust decides that the person has such needs, to decide whether to provide any such services to the person,

c

if a trust decides to provide any such services to a person, and the circumstances fall within a description prescribed by the regulations, to prepare a plan in accordance with which the services are to be provided to the person and keep the plan under review.

3

Subsections (7) and (8) (except paragraph (a)) of section 5 of this Act apply to regulations under sub-paragraph (1) as they apply to regulations made by virtue of that section.

4

Article 59(1) of the Adoption (Northern Ireland) Order 1987 (prohibited payments) does not apply to any payment made in accordance with regulations under sub-paragraph (1).

5

In this paragraph, “HSC trust” has the meaning given by Article 2 of the Adoption (Northern Ireland) Order 1987.