- Latest available (Revised)
- Original (As enacted)
This version of this provision is prospective.
The term provision is used to describe a definable element in a piece of legislation that has legislative effect – such as a Part, Chapter or section. A version of a provision is prospective either:
Commencement Orders listed in the ‘Changes to Legislation’ box as not yet applied may bring this prospective version into force.
Adoption and Children Act (Northern Ireland) 2022, Section 33 is up to date with all changes known to be in force on or before 14 August 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.
Prospective
33.—(1) At any time when a child’s home is with any persons (“the people concerned”) with whom the child is not placed by an adoption agency, but the people concerned—
(a)have applied for an adoption order in respect of the child and the application has not been disposed of;
(b)have given notice of intention to adopt; or
(c)have applied for leave to apply for an adoption order under section 39(6) and the application has not been disposed of,
a person may remove the child only in accordance with the provisions of this group of sections (that is, this section and sections 34 to 37).
(2) For the purposes of this group of sections, a notice of intention to adopt is to be disregarded if—
(a)the period of four months beginning with the giving of the notice has expired without the people concerned applying for an adoption order; or
(b)the notice is a second or subsequent notice of intention to adopt and was given during the period of five months beginning with the giving of the preceding notice.
(3) For the purposes of this group of sections, if the people concerned apply for leave to apply for an adoption order under section 39(6) and the leave is granted, the application for leave is not to be treated as disposed of until the period of three days beginning with the granting of the leave has expired.
(4) This section does not prevent the removal of a child who is arrested.
(5) Where a parent or guardian may remove a child from the people concerned in accordance with the provisions of this group of sections, the people concerned must at the request of the parent or guardian secure the child’s return to the parent or guardian at once.
(6) A person who—
(a)fails to comply with subsection (5); or
(b)removes a child in contravention of this section,
is guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months, or a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale, or both.
(7) This group of sections applies whether or not the child in question is in Northern Ireland.
(8) The reference in subsection (1) to a child placed by an adoption agency includes a child placed by an adoption agency within the meaning of section 2(1) of the Adoption and Children Act 2002 or Scottish adoption agency within the meaning of section 144(3) of that Act.
Commencement Information
I1S. 33 not in operation at Royal Assent, see s. 160(1)
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 Northern Ireland Assembly 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 accompany all Acts of the Northern Ireland Assembly.
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: