The Early Years Assistance (Best Start Grants) (Scotland) Regulations 2018

Meaning of being responsible for a child S

9.—(1) An individual is to be regarded as responsible for a child on a day only if at least one of the following statements is true:—

(a) the child is a dependant of the individual on the day in question;

(b) the individual is one of the child's parents and, on the day in question—

(i) normally lives with the child;

(ii) is under 20 years of age; and

(iii) is a dependant of another individual;

(c) the child is, on the day in question, treated in law as the child of the individual by virtue of an order under section 54 [F1 or section 54A] of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008 M1 ;

(d) the child is, on the day in question, treated in law as the child of the individual by reason of an adoption either—

(i) effected under the law of Scotland; or

(ii) effected under the law of another country or jurisdiction and recognised by the law of Scotland;

(e) the child is, on the day in question, placed with the individual by an adoption agency;

(f) the individual is, on the day in question, a guardian of the child appointed by deed, will or by a court;

(g) the individual is, on the day in question, a kinship carer for the child.

(2) In paragraph (1)(e), “adoption agency” means—

(a) a local authority acting in its capacity as an adoption service provider under section 1 of the Adoption and Children (Scotland) Act 2007 M2 ;

(b) an adoption service provided as mentioned in paragraph 8(1)(b) of schedule 12 of the Public Services Reform (Scotland) Act 2010 M3 and registered under Part 5 of that Act;

(c) an adoption agency within the meaning of section 2(1) of the Adoption and Children Act 2002 M4 ;

(d) an adoption agency within the meaning of article 3 of the Adoption (Northern Ireland) Order 1987 M5 .

[F2 (3) For the purpose of paragraph (1)(g), an individual is a kinship carer for a child on a day if—

(a) the individual is—

(i) a person who is related to the child,

(ii) a person who is known to the child and with whom the child has a pre-existing relationship, or

(iii) a friend or acquaintance of a person related to the child, and

(b) on that day, the child lives with the individual (exclusively or predominantly) under the terms of—

(i) a kinship care order as defined in section 72(1) of the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014M6 ,

(ii) any other order under section 11(1) of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 (“the 1995 Act”), or

(iii) an agreement between the individual, the individual’s partner or both of them and—

(aa) a local authority by which the child is looked after within the meaning of section 17(6) of the 1995 ActM7 ,

(bb) a local authority in England or Wales by which the child is looked after within the meaning of section 105(4) of the Children Act 1989 (“the 1989 Act”)M8 , or

(cc) an authority in Northern Ireland by which the child is looked after within the meaning of article 25 of the Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1995 (“the 1995 Order”)M9 .

(4) A person described in paragraph (3)(a) must not be—

(a) the parent of the child within the meaning of section 15(1) of the 1995 Act,

(b) a foster carer within the meaning of regulation 2 of the Looked After Children (Scotland) Regulations 2009,

(c) a local authority foster parent in England and Wales within the meaning of section 105(1) of the 1989 Act, or

(d) an authority foster parent in Northern Ireland within the meaning of article 27(3) of the 1995 Order.

(5) In paragraph (3)(a) “related” means related either by blood, marriage or civil partnership.]

Textual Amendments

F1 Words in reg. 9(1)(c) inserted (14.11.2022) by The Social Security (Miscellaneous Amendment and Transitional Provision) (Scotland) Regulations 2022 (S.S.I. 2022/336), regs. 1(1), 2(2)(a)

F2 Reg. 9(3)-(5) substituted for reg. 9(3) (14.11.2022) by The Social Security (Miscellaneous Amendment and Transitional Provision) (Scotland) Regulations 2022 (S.S.I. 2022/336), regs. 1(1), 2(2)(b)

Marginal Citations

M1 2008 c.22. Section 54 is amended by the Crime and Courts Act 2013 (c.22), schedule 11, paragraph 206 and the Justice Act (Northern Ireland) 2015 (c.9), schedule 9, Part 1, paragraph 1.

M2 2007 asp 4.

M3 2010 asp 8.

M4 2002 c.38.

M5 S.I. 1987/2203. Article 3 is amended by the Adoption (Intercountry Aspects) Act (Northern Ireland) 2001 (c.11), section 7, the Health and Social Care (Reform) Act (Northern Ireland) 2009 (c.1), schedule 6, paragraph 1(1)(d), S.I. 1994/429 and S.I. 2003/431.

M6 2014 asp 8.

M7 1995 c.36. Section 17(6) is amended by the Adoption and Children (Scotland) Act 2007 (asp 4), schedule 2, paragraph 9(4) and by the Children's Hearings (Scotland) Act 2011 (asp 1), schedule 5, paragraph 2(4) and by S.S.I. 2013/211.

M8 1989 c. 41. Section 105(4) is substituted by S.I. 2016/413.

M9 S.I. 1995/755 (N.I. 2). Article 25 is amended by the Children (Leaving Care) Act (Northern Ireland) 2002 (c.11), section 2(1).