Child Care Act 1980

It shall be the duty of every local authority to make available such advice, guidance and assistance as may promote the welfare of children by diminishing the need to receive children into or keep them in care under this Act or to bring children before a juvenile court; and any provisions made by a local authority under this subsection may, if the local authority think fit, include provision for giving assistance in kind or, in exceptional circumstances, in cash.

In carrying out their duty under subsection (1) above, a local authority may make arrangements with voluntary organisations or other persons for the provision by those organisations or other persons of such advice, guidance or assistance as is mentioned in that subsection.

Where any provision which may be made by a local authority under section (1) above is made (whether by that or any other authority) under any other enactment, the local authority shall not be required to make the provision under this section but shall have power to do so.

In this section “child” means a person under the age of eighteen.

Where a local authority have received a child into their care under this section, it shall, subject to the provisions of this Part of this Act, be their duty to keep the child in their care so long as the welfare of the child appears to them to require it and the child has not attained the age of eighteen.

Any reference in this section to the parents or guardian of a child shall be construed as a reference to all the persons who are parents of the child or who are guardians of the child.

In the case of a resolution passed under paragraph (b), (c) or (d) of subsection (1) above, unless the person whose parental rights and duties have under the resolution vested in the local authority has consented in writing to the passing of the resolution, the local authority, if that person’s whereabouts are known to them, shall forthwith after the passing of the resolution serve on him notice in writing of the passing thereof.

Every notice served by a local authority under subsection (2) above shall inform the person on whom the notice is served of his right to object to the resolution and the effect of any objection made by him.

If, not later than one month after notice is served on a person under subsection (2) above, he serves a counter-notice in writing on the local authority objecting to the resolution, the resolution shall, subject to the provisions of subsections (5) and (6) below, lapse on the expiry of fourteen days from the service of the counter-notice.

Where a counter-notice has been served on a local authority under subsection (4) above, the authority may not later than fourteen days after the receipt by them of the counter-notice complain to a juvenile court having jurisdiction in the area of the authority, and in that event the resolution shall not lapse until the determination of the complaint.

Any notice under this section (including a counter-notice) may be served by post, so however that a notice served by a local authority under subsection (2) above shall not be duly served by post unless it is sent by registered post or recorded delivery service.

Where, after a child has been received into the care of a local authority under section 2 of this Act, the whereabouts of any parent of his have remained unknown for twelve months, then, for the purposes of this section, the parent shall be deemed to have abandoned the child.

The Secretary of State may by order a draft of which has been approved by each House of Parliament amend subsection (1)(d) above by substituting a different period for the period mentioned in that paragraph (or the period which, by a previous order under this subsection, was substituted for that period).

While a resolution passed under subsection (1)(b), (c) or (d) of section 3 of this Act is in force with respect to a child, section 2(3) of this Act shall not apply in relation to the person who, but for the resolution, would have the parental rights and duties in relation to the child.

A resolution under section 3 of this Act shall not relieve any person from any liability to maintain, or contribute to the maintenance of, the child.

A resolution under section 3 of this Act shall not authorise a local authority to cause a child to be brought up in any religious creed other than that in which he would have been brought up but for the resolution.

Subject to the provisions of this Part of this Act, a resolution under section 3 of this Act shall continue in force until the child with respect to whom it was passed attains the age of 18.

A resolution under section 3 of this Act may be rescinded by resolution of the local authority if it appears to them that the rescinding of the resolution will be for the benefit of the child.

The reception of a child into their care by a local authority under section 2 of this Act, and the passing of a resolution with respect to him under section 3 of this Act, shall not affect any supervision order or probation order previously made with respect to him by any court.

Where an order of any court is in force giving the custody of a child to any person, the foregoing provisions of this Part of this Act shall have effect in relation to the child as if for references to the parents or guardian of the child or to a parent or guardian of his there were substituted references to that person.

The parent of a child who is in the care of a local authority under section 2 of this Act shall secure that the appropriate local authority are informed of the parent’s address for the time being.

Where under section 2(4) of this Act a local authority take over the care of a child from another local authority, that other authority shall where possible inform the parent of the child that the care of the child has been so taken over.

For the purposes of subsection (1) above, the appropriate local authority shall be the authority in whose care the child is for the time being; but where under section 2(4) of this Act a local authority have taken over the care of a child from another authority, then unless and until a parent is informed that the care of a child has been so taken over the appropriate local authority shall in relation to that parent continue to be the authority from whom the care of the child was taken over.

Any parent who knowingly fails to comply with subsection (1) above shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £10.

It shall be a defence in any proceeding under subsection (4) above to prove that the defendant was residing at the same address as the other parent of the child and had reasonable cause to believe that the other parent had informed the appropriate authority that both parents were residing at that address.

It shall be the duty of a local authority to whose care a child is committed by a care order or by a warrant under section 23(1) of the M11Children and Young Persons Act 1969 (which relates to remands in the care of local authorities) to receive the child into their care and, notwithstanding any claim by his parent or guardian, to keep him in their care while the order or warrant is in force.

A local authority shall, subject to the following provisions of this section, have the same powers and duties with respect to a person in their care by virtue of a care order or such a warrant as his parent or guardian would have apart from the order or warrant and may (without prejudice to the foregoing provisions of this subsection but subject to regulations made in pursuance of section 39 of this Act) restrict his liberty to such extent as the authority consider appropriate.

A local authority shall not cause a child in their care by virtue of a care order to be brought up in any religious creed other than that in which he would have been brought up apart from the order.

It shall be the duty of a local authority to comply with any provision included in an interim order in pursuance of section 22(2) of the M12Children and Young Persons Act 1969 and, in the case of a person in their care by virtue of section 23 of that Act, to permit him to be removed from their care in due course of law.

A person’s appointment as a visitor in pursuance of subsection (1) above shall be determined if the care order in question ceases to be in force or he gives notice in writing to the authority who appointed him that he resigns the appointment or the authority give him notice in writing that they terminate it; but the determination of such an appointment shall not prejudice any duty under subsection (1) above to make a further appointment.

In this section “independent person” means a person satisfying such conditions as may be prescribed by regulations made by the Secretary of State with a view to securing that he is independent of the local authority in question and unconnected with any community home.

While a care order other than an interim order is in force in respect of a child who has not attained the age of eighteen, it shall be the duty of his parent to keep the local authority to whose care he is committed by the order informed of the parent’s address; and if the parent knows of the order and fails to perform his duty under this subsection, the parent shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £10 unless he shows that at the material time he was residing at the address of the other parent and had reasonable cause to believe that the other parent had kept the authority informed of their address.

The functions conferred on a local authority by sections 10 and 11 of this Act in respect of any child are additional to the functions which are conferred on the authority in respect of the child by Part III of this Act.

References in subsection (1) above to running away or taking away or to returning are references to running away or taking away from, or to returning to, a place where accommodation is or was being provided in pursuance of Part III of this Act by the local authority in whose care the child is.

Where an order of any court is in force giving custody of a child to any person, this section shall have effect in relation to that child as if for references to a parent or guardian of the child there were substituted references to that person.

The Secretary of State may by order a draft of which has been approved by each House of Parliament amend subsection (2) above by substituting a different period for the period of twenty-eight days or of six months mentioned in that subsection, or by substituting a different period for any period substituted by a previous order under this subsection.

If a justice of the peace is satisfied by information on oath that there are reasonable grounds for believing that a person specified in the information can produce a child to whom this section applies, he may issue a summons directed to the person so specified and requiring him to attend and produce the child before a magistrates’ court acting for the same petty sessions area as the justice.

Without prejudice to the powers under subsection (2) above, if a justice of the peace is satisfied by information on oath that there are reasonable grounds for believing that a child to whom this section applies is in premises specified in the information, he may issue a search warrant authorising a person named in the warrant, being an officer of the local authority in whose care the child is, to search the premises for the child; and if the child is found, he shall be placed in such accommodation as the local authority may provide for him under Part III of this Act.

A person who, without reasonable excuse, fails to comply with a summons under subsection (2) above shall, without prejudice to any liability apart from this subsection, be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £100.

If a magistratres’ court is satisfied by information on oath that there are reasonable grounds for believing that a person specified in the information can produce a child who is absent as mentioned in subsection (1) above, the court may issue a summons directed to the person so specified and requiring him to attend and produce the absent child before the court; and a person who without reasonable excuse fails to comply with any such requirement shall, without prejudice to any liability apart from this subsection, be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £100.

Without prejudice to its powers under subsection (2) above a magistrates’ court may, if it is satisfied by information on oath that there are reasonable grounds for believing that a child who is absent as mentioned in subsection (1) above is in premises specified in the information, issue a search warrant authorising a constable to search the premises for that child.

A person who knowingly compels, persuades, incites or assists a child to become or continue to be absent as mentioned in subsection (1) above shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to a fine not exceeding £400 or to both.

The reference to a constable in subsections (1) and (3) above includes a reference to a person who is a constable under the law of any part of the United Kingdom, to a member of the police in Jersey and to an officer of police within the meaning of section 43 of the Larceny (Guernsey) Law 1958 or any corresponding law for the time being in force.

In the application of subsections (2) and (3) above to Northern Ireland, “magistrates’ court” means a magistrates’ court within the meaning of the M15Magistrates’ Courts Act (Northern Ireland) 1964.

With a view to the preparation, in pursuance of the provisions of this Part of this Act, of regional plans for the provision of accommodation for children in the care of local authorities and for the equipment and maintenance of the accommodation, the Secretary of State may by order provide that any area specified in the order shall be a separate area (in this Act referred to as a “planning area”) for the purposes of those provisions.

Before making an order under subsection (1) above, the Secretary of State shall consult each local authority whose area or any part of whose area is included in the planning area which he proposes should be specified in the order and such other local authorities, if any, as he thinks fit.

It shall be the duty of the local authorities whose areas are wholly or partly included in a planning area (in this Act referred to, in relation to such an area, as “the relevant authorities”) to establish for the area, within such period as may be provided by the order specifying the planning area or such longer period as the Secretary of State may allow, a body to be called the children’s regional planning committee.

The provisions of Schedule 1 to this Act shall have effect in relation to children’s regional planning committees.

The children’s regional planning committee for a planning area (in this and section 33 of this Act referred to as “the committee”) shall prepare and submit to the Secretary of State, in accordance with the following provisions of this section, a plan (in this Act referred to as a “regional plan”) for the provision and maintenance of homes, to be known as community homes, for the accommodation and maintenance of children in the care of the relevant authorities.

Where a regional plan makes provision for any such voluntary home as is referred to in paragraph (b) of subsection (2) above, the plan shall designate the home as either a controlled community home or an assisted community home, according as it is proposed in the plan that the management, equipment and maintenance of the home should be the responsibility of one of the relevant authorities or of the voluntary organisation by which the home is provided.

Before including provision in a regional plan that a community home should be provided by any of the relevant authorities or that a voluntary home provided by a voluntary organisation should be designated as a controlled or assisted community home, the committee shall obtain the consent of the authority or voluntary organisation by which the home is or is to be provided and, in the case of a home which is to be designated as a controlled or assisted community home, the consent of the local authority which it is proposed should be specified in the instrument of management for the home.

A regional plan shall be prepared in such form and shall contain such information as the Secretary of State may direct, either generally or in relation to a particular planning area or particular kinds of plans; and the Secretary of State may direct that the regional plan for a particular planning area shall be submitted to him within such period as may be specified in the direction or such longer period as he may allow.

After considering any regional plan submitted to him under section 32 of this Act and after making in the plan such modifications (if any) as he may agree with the committee by which the plan was submitted and as he may consider appropriate for securing that the plan makes proper provision for the accommodation and maintenance of children in the care of the relevant authorities, the Secretary of State may approve the plan.

Where the Secretary of State considers that, either with or without such modifications as are referred to in subsection (1) above, part but not the whole of a plan submitted to him under section 32 of this Act makes proper provision for the accommodation and maintenance of the children to whom that part of the plan relates, the Secretary of State may approve that part of the plan.

Where the Secretary of State has approved part only of a regional plan, the committee for the planning area concerned shall prepare and submit to him under section 32 of this Act a further regional plan containing proposals to supplement that part of the previous plan which was approved by the Secretary of State.

Where the Secretary of State approves a regional plan, in whole or in part, he shall give notice in writing of his approval to the committee for the planning area concerned specifying the date on which the plan is to come into operation, and the committee shall send a copy of the notice to each of the relevant authorities and to any voluntary organisation whose consent was required to any provision of the plan.

The Secretary of State may by order make an instrument of management providing for the constitution of a body of managers for any voluntary home which, in accordance with a regional plan approved by him, is designated as a controlled or assisted community home.

An instrument of management under this section shall come into force on such date as may be specified in the instrument, and if such an instrument is in force in relation to a voluntary home the home shall be and be known as a controlled community home or an assisted community home, according to its designation in the regional plan.

An instrument of management for a controlled or assisted community home shall contain such provisions as the Secretary of State considers appropriate for giving effect to the provisions of the regional plan by which the home is designated as a controlled or assisted community home, but nothing in the instrument of management for such a home shall affect the purposes for which the premises comprising the home are held.

Subject to subsection (1) above, in the event of any inconsistency between the provisions of any trust deed and the instrument of management relating to a controlled or assisted community home, the instrument of management shall prevail over the provisions of the trust deed in so far as they relate to that home.

After consultation with the voluntary organisation by which a controlled or assisted community home is provided and with the local authority specified in the instrument of management for the time being in force for that home, the Secretary of State may vary or revoke any provisions of that instrument of management by a further instrument of management.

In this Act the expression “trust deed”, in relation to a voluntary home, means any instrument (other than an instrument of management) regulating the maintenance, management or conduct of the home or the constitution of a body of managers or trustees of the home.

The management, equipment and maintenance of a controlled community home shall be the responsibility of the local authority specified in the instrument of management for that home, and in the following provisions of this section “the responsible authority”, in relation to such a home, means the local authority responsible for its management, equipment and maintenance.

Subject to the following provisions of this section, the responsible authority shall exercise their functions in relation to a controlled community home through the body of managers constituted by the instrument of management for the home, and anything done, liability incurred or property acquired by the managers shall be done, incurred or acquired by the managers as agents of the responsible authority.

In so far as any matter is reserved for the decision of the responsible authority, either by subsection (4) below or by the instrument of management for the controlled community home in question or by the service by the responsible authority on the managers or any of them of a notice reserving any matter, that matter shall be dealt with by the responsible authority themselves and not by the managers, but in dealing with any matter so reserved the responsible authority shall have regard to any representations made to them by the managers.

The employment of persons at a controlled community home shall be a matter reserved for the decision of the responsible authority, but where the instrument of management so provides the responsible authority may enter into arrangements with the voluntary organisation by which the home is provided whereby, in accordance with such terms as may be agreed between the responsible authority and the voluntary organisation, persons who are not in the employment of the responsible authority shall undertake duties at the home.

The accounting year of the managers of a controlled community home shall be such as may be specified by the responsible authority and, before such date in each accounting year as may be so specified, the managers of a controlled community home shall submit to the responsible authority estimates, in such form as the authority may require, of expenditure and receipts in respect of the next accounting year; and any expenses incurred by the managers of a controlled community home with the approval of the responsible authority shall be defrayed by that authority.

The managers of a controlled community home shall keep proper accounts in respect of that home and proper records in relation to the accounts, but where an instrument of management relates to more than one controlled community home, one set of accounts and records may be kept in respect of all the homes to which the instrument relates.

The management, equipment and maintenance of an assisted community home shall be the responsibility of the voluntary organisation by which the home is provided, and in the following provisions of this section “the responsible organisation”, in relation to such a home, means the voluntary organisation responsible for its management, equipment and maintenance.

Subject to the following provisions of this section, the responsible organisation shall exercise its functions in relation to the home through the body of managers constituted by the instrument of management for the home, and any thing done, liability incurred or property acquired by the managers shall be done, incurred or acquired by the managers as agents of the responsible organisation.

In so far as any matter is reserved for the decision of the responsible organisation, either by subsection (4) below or by the instrument of management for the assisted community home in question or by the service by the responsible organisation on the managers or any of them of a notice reserving any matter, that matter shall be dealt with by the responsible organisation itself and not by the managers, but in dealing with any matter so reserved the responsible organisation shall have regard to any representations made to the organisation by the managers.

The accounting year of the managers of an assisted community home shall be such as may be specified by the responsible organisation and, before such date in each accounting year as may be so specified, the managers of an assisted community home shall submit to the responsible organisation estimates, in such form as the organisation may require, of expenditure and receipts in respect of the next accounting year; and all expenses incurred by the managers of an assisted community home with the approval of the responsible organisation shall be defrayed by the organisation.

The managers of an assisted community home shall keep proper accounts in respect of that home and proper records in relation to those accounts, but where an instrument of management relates to more than one assisted community home, one set of accounts and records may be kept in respect of all the homes to which the instrument relates.

The Secretary of State may make regulations with respect to the conduct of community homes and for securing the welfare of the children in community homes.

Without prejudice to the power to make regulations under this section conferring functions on the local authority or voluntary organisation by which a community home is provided or on the managers of a controlled or assisted community home, regulations under this section may confer functions in relation to a controlled or assisted community home on the local authority named in the instrument of management for the home.

Where it appears to the Secretary of State that any premises used for the purposes of a community home are unsuitable for those purposes, or that the conduct of a community home is not in accordance with regulations made by him under section 39 of this Act or is otherwise unsatisfactory, he may by notice in writing served on the responsible body, direct that as from such date as may be specified in the notice the premises shall not be used for the purposes of a community home.

Where the Secretary of State has given a direction in relation to a controlled or assisted community home under subsection (1) above and the direction has not been revoked, the Secretary of State may at any time by order revoke the instrument of management for that home.

Subject to subsection (5) below, where any dispute relating to a controlled community home arises between the local authority specified in the instrument of management and either the voluntary organisation by which the home is provided or any other local authority who have placed, or desire or are required to place, a child in their care in the home, the dispute may be referred by either party to the Secretary of State for his determination.

Subject to subsection (5) below, where any dispute relating to an assisted community home arises between the voluntary organisation by which the home is provided and any local authority who have placed, or desire to place, a child in their care in the home, the dispute may be referred by either party to the Secretary of State for his determination.

Where a dispute is referred to the Secretary of State under this section he may, in order to give effect to his determination of the dispute, give such directions as he thinks fit to the local authority or voluntary organisation concerned.

The provisions of this section shall apply notwithstanding that the matter in dispute may be one which, under or by virtue of the preceding provisions of this Part of this Act, is reserved for the decision, or is the responsibility, of the local authority specified in the instrument of management or, as the case may be, the voluntary organisation by which the home is provided.

Where any trust deed relating to a controlled or assisted community home contains provision whereby a bishop or any other ecclesiastical or denominational authority has power to decide questions relating to religious instruction given in the home, no dispute which is capable of being dealt with in accordance with that provision shall be referred to the Secretary of State under this section.

The voluntary organisation by which a controlled or assisted community home is provided shall not cease to provide the home except after giving to the Secretary of State and the local authority specified in the instrument of management not less than two years’ notice in writing of their intention to do so.

A notice under subsection (1) above shall specify the date from which the voluntary organisation intends to cease to provide the home as a community home; and where such a notice is given and is not withdrawn before the date specified in it, then, subject to subsection (4) below, the instrument of management for the home shall cease to have effect on that date and accordingly the home shall then cease to be a controlled or assisted community home.

Where a notice is given under subsection (1) above, the local authority to whom the notice is given shall inform the children’s regional planning committee responsible for the regional plan under which the voluntary home in question was designated as a controlled or assisted community home of the receipt and content of the notice.

Where the instrument of management for a controlled or assisted community home ceases to have effect by virtue either of an order under subsection (2) of section 40 of this Act or of subsection (2) or subsection (4)(a) of section 43 of this Act, the voluntary organisation by which the home was provided or, if the premises used for the purposes of the home are not vested in that organisation, the persons in whom those premises are vested (in this section referred to as “the trustees of the home”), shall become liable, in accordance with the following provisions of this section, to make repayment in respect of any increase in the value of the premises and other property belonging to the voluntary organisation or the trustees of the home which is attributable to the expenditure of public money thereon.

For the purposes of subsection (2) above, “relevant premises”, in relation to a controlled or assisted community home, means premises used for the purposes of the home and belonging to the voluntary organisation or the trustees of the home but erected, extended or improved, at any time while the home was a controlled community home, by the local authority having, at that time, such responsibility in relation to the home as is mentioned in that subsection.

The provisions of this section shall have effect notwithstanding anything in any trust deed for a controlled or assisted community home and notwithstanding the provisions of any enactment or instrument governing the disposition of the property of a voluntary organisation.

Any sums received by the Secretary of State under this section shall be paid into the Consolidated Fund.

No voluntary home shall be carried on unless it is for the time being registered in a register to be kept for the purposes of this section by the Secretary of State.

Application for registration under this section shall be made by the persons intending to carry on the home to which the application relates, and shall be made in such manner, and accompanied by such particulars, as the Secretary of State may by regulations prescribe.

On an application duly made under subsection (2) above the Secretary of State may either grant or refuse the application, as he thinks fit, but where he refuses the application he shall give the applicant notice in writing of the refusal.

Where at any time it appears to the Secretary of State that the conduct of any voluntary home is not in accordance with regulations made or directions given under section 60 of this Act or is otherwise unsatisfactory, he may, after giving to the persons carrying on the home not less than twenty-eight days’ notice in writing of his proposal to do so, remove the home from the register.

Any person who carries on a voluntary home in contravention of the provisions of subsection (1) above shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £500.

Where the Secretary of State registers a home under this section or removes a home from the register he shall notify the local authority in whose area the home is situated.

Any notice under this section required to be given by the Secretary of State to the persons carrying on, or intending to carry on, a voluntary home may be given to those persons by being delivered personally to any one of them, or being sent by post in a registered letter to them or any one of them.

For the purposes of section 7 of the M29Interpretation Act 1978 (which defines “service by post”) a letter enclosing a notice under this section to the persons carrying on a voluntary home or anyone of them shall be deemed to be properly addressed if it is addressed to them or him at the home.

Where under section 57 of this Act application for the registration of a voluntary home is refused, or it is proposed to remove a voluntary home from the register, the persons intending to carry on or carrying on the home, as the case may be, may within fourteen days from the giving of the notice under subsection (3) or subsection (4) of that section appeal against the refusal or proposal; and where the appeal is brought against a proposal to remove a home from the register, the home shall not be removed therefrom before the determination of the appeal.

An appeal under this section shall be brought by notice in writing addressed to the Secretary of State requiring him to refer the refusal or proposal to an appeal tribunal constituted in accordance with the provisions of Schedule 3 to this Act.

On an appeal under this section the appeal tribunal may confirm the refusal or proposal of the Secretary of State or may direct that the home shall be registered or, as the case may be, shall not be removed from the register, and the Secretary of State shall comply with the direction.

The Lord Chancellor may with the concurrence of the Lord President of the Council make rules as to the practice and procedure to be followed with respect to the constitution of appeal tribunals for the purposes of this section, as to the manner of making appeals to such tribunals, and as to proceedings before such tribunals and matters incidental or consequential on such proceedings; and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing provisions of this subsection such rules may make provision as to the particulars to be supplied by or to the Secretary of State of matters relevant to the determination of the appeal and as to representation before such tribunals, whether by counsel or solicitor or otherwise.

The provisions of the M30Arbitration Act 1950 shall not apply to any proceedings before a tribunal constituted for the purposes of this section except so far as any provisions thereof may be applied thereto with or without modifications by rules made under this section.

It shall be the duty of the person in charge of any voluntary home established after the commencement of this Act to send to the Secretary of State within three months from the establishment of the home such particulars with respect to the home as the Secretary of State may by regulations prescribe.

If default is made in sending the prescribed particulars with respect to any voluntary home in accordance with the requirements of this section, the person in charge of the home shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £25 and to a further fine not exceeding £1 in respect of each day during which the default continues after conviction.

Where any regulation under this section provides that this subsection shall have effect in relation thereto, any person who contravenes or fails to comply with the regulation or any requirement or direction thereunder shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £500.

The power conferred by Part III of this Act on the Secretary of State to make regulations as to the boarding out of children by local authorities shall extend also to the boarding out of children by voluntary organisations, subject to the modification that in the provisions of the said Part III conferring that power any reference to the supervision and inspection by a local authority of boarded out children and the premises in which they are boarded out shall, in relation to children boarded out by voluntary organisations, be deemed to be a reference to supervision and inspection either by a local authority or, where it is so provided by or under the regulations, by a voluntary organisation.

Where any regulation under this section provides that this subsection shall have effect in relation thereto, any person who contravenes or fails to comply with the regulation shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £50.

The Secretary of State may by regulations control the making and carrying out by voluntary organisations of arrangements for the emigration of children.

Any regulations made under this section may contain such consequential and incidental provisions as appear to the Secretary of State to be necessary or expedient, including, in particular, provisions for requiring information to be given to the Secretary of State as to the operations or intended operations of the organisation and for enabling the Secretary of State to be satisfied that suitable arrangements have been or will be made for the children’s reception and welfare in the country to which they are going.

Where any regulation under this section provides that this subsection shall have effect in relation thereto, any person who contravenes or fails to comply with the regulation shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £50.

Section 13(1) of this Act shall apply in relation to children who are not in the care of local authorities under section 2 of this Act but who are in voluntary homes or are boarded out, as it applies by virtue of subsection (2) of that section to children in the care of the local authority, except that in the case of a child who is not in the care of a local authority the references in subsection (2) of that section to a local authority shall be construed as references to the voluntary organisation in whose care the child is.

For the purposes of this section a child is boarded out if he is boarded out, by the voluntary organisation in whose care he is, with foster parents to live in their home as a member of their family.

It shall be the duty of local authorities from time to time to cause children in voluntary homes in their area, other than community homes, to be visited in the interests of the well-being of the children, and any person authorised in that behalf by a local authority may enter any such voluntary home in the area of the authority for the purpose of visiting the children in the home.

Any person authorised in that behalf by a local authority may enter any voluntary home outside the area of the authority for the purpose of visiting children in the home who are in the care of the authority under section 2 of this Act or are for the time being committed to the care of the authority by a care order or by a warrant under section 23(1) of the M33Children and Young Persons Act 1969 (which relates to remands in the care of local authorities).

Nothing in subsection (1) or (2) above shall apply to a voluntary home which, otherwise than by virtue of section 74 of this Act, is as a whole subject to inspection by or under the authority of a government department.

A person who proposes to exercise any power of entry or inspection conferred by this section shall if so required produce some duly authenticated document showing his authority to exercise the power.

Any person who obstructs the exercise of any power of entry or inspection conferred by this section shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £25 or, in the case of a second or subsequent conviction, to a fine not exceeding £50.

Where it comes to the knowledge of a local authority that there is in their area any child over compulsory school age who at the time when he ceased to be of that age or at any subsequent time was, but is no longer, in the care of a voluntary organisation, then, unless the authority are satisfied that the welfare of the child does not require it, they shall be under a duty so long as he has not attained the age of eighteen to advise and befriend him; but if the local authority are satisfied that the voluntary organisation have the necessary facilities for advising and befriending the child, the local authority may make arrangements whereby, while the arrangements continue in force, he shall be advised and befriended by the voluntary organisation instead of by the local authority.

Where a child over compulsory school age ceases to be in the care of a voluntary organisation, the organisation shall inform the local authority for the area in which the child proposes to reside.

Where it comes to the knowledge of a local authority or a voluntary organisation that a child whom they have been advising and befriending in pursuance of this section proposes to transfer or has transferred his residence to the area of another local authority, the first mentioned local authority or, as the case may be, the voluntary organisation shall inform that other local authority.

The Advisory Council on Child Care shall consist of such persons, to be appointed by the Secretary of State, as the Secretary of State may think fit, being persons specially qualified to deal with matters affecting the welfare of children and persons having such other qualifications as the Secretary of State considers requisite.

Among the persons appointed under this subsection there shall be persons having experience in local government.

The Secretary of State shall appoint a person to be chairman, and a person to be the secretary, of the Advisory Council on Child Care.

It shall be the duty of the Advisory Council on Child Care to advise the Secretary of State on any matter which the Secretary of State may refer to them, being such a matter as is mentioned in subsection (1) above, and they may also, of their own motion, make representations to the Secretary of State as respects any such matter as is mentioned in that subsection.

The Secretary of State may make out of moneys provided by Parliament such payments to the members of the Advisory Council on Child Care in respect of travelling, subsistence and other expenses as he may with the consent of the Minister for the Civil Service determine.

Where under any of the enactments mentioned in subsection (1) above a child is removed to a place of safety, not being a community home provided by a local authority or a controlled community home and not being a hospital vested in the Secretary of State, the expenses of the child’s maintenance there shall be recoverable from the local authority within whose area the child was immediately before his removal.

Subsection (1) above does not apply to any home or other premises which is as a whole subject to inspection by or under the authority of a government department.

An inspection under this section shall be conducted by a person authorised in that behalf by the Secretary of State, but an officer of a local authority shall not be so authorised except with the consent of that authority.

Any person inspecting a home or other premises under this section may inspect the children therein and make such examination into the state and managment of the home or other premises and the treatment of children therein as he thinks fit.

A person authorised to inspect any home or other premises under section 74 of this Act shall have a right to enter the home or other premises for that purpose and for any other purpose specified in subsection (4) of that section, but shall if so required produce some duly authenticated document showing his authority to exercise the power of entry conferred by this subsection.

A person who obstructs the exercise by a person authorised as mentioned in subsection (1) above of a power of entry conferred thereby shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £5 or, in the case of a second or subsequent conviction, to a fine not exceeding £20.

A refusal to allow any such person as is mentioned in subsection (1) above to enter any such home or other premises as are mentioned in section 74(1) of this Act shall be deemed, for the purposes of section 40 of the M43Children and Young Persons Act 1933 (which relates to search warrants), to be a reasonable cause to suspect that a child in the home or other premises is being neglected in a manner likely to cause him unnecessary suffering or injury to health.

The Secretary of State may, before an inquiry is commenced, direct that it shall be held in private, but where no such direction has been given, the person holding the inquiry may if he thinks fit hold it or any part of it in private.

M46Subsections (2) to (5) of section 250 of the Local Government Act 1972 (powers in relation to local inquiries) shall apply in relation to an inquiry under this section as they apply in relation to a local inquiry under that section.

In this section—

• “functions” includes powers and duties which a person has otherwise than by virtue of any enactment;

• “voluntary home” means a home or other institution for the boarding, care and maintenance of poor children which is supported wholly or partly by voluntary contributions, but does not include a mental nursing home within the meaning of the M47Nursing Homes Act 1975 or a residential home for mentally disordered persons within the meaning of the Residential Homes Act 1980.

Any local authority may conduct or assist other persons in conducting research into any matter connected with their functions under the enactments mentioned in subsection (1) above or their functions connected with the adoption of children.

Any expenses incurred by the Secretary of State under this section shall be defrayed out of moneys provided by Parliament.

The Secretary of State with the consent of the Treasury may out of moneys provided by Parliament defray or contribute towards any fees or expenses incurred by persons undergoing training approved by the Secretary of State with a view to, or in the course of, their employment for the purposes of any of the enactments specified in subsection (2) below, or their employment by a voluntary organisation for similar purposes, and may defray or contribute towards the cost of maintenance of persons undergoing such training.

The clerk of each juvenile court shall, at such times and in such form as the Secretary of State may direct, transmit to him such particulars as he may require with respect to the proceedings of the court.

The Secretary of State shall in each year lay before Parliament a consolidated and classified abstract of the information transmitted to him under subsections (1) and (2) above and under section 70 of this Act.

The Secretary of State shall lay before Parliament in 1982 and in every third subsequent year a report with respect to the exercise by local authorities of their functions under the enactments mentioned in subsection (5) below, the provision by voluntary organisations of facilities for children and such other matters relating to children as he thinks fit.

The Secretary of State may make to local authorities out of moneys provided by Parliament grants of such amount and subject to such conditions as he may with the consent of the Treasury determine in respect of expenditure incurred by the authorities in providing secure accommodation in community homes other than assisted community homes.

The Secretary of State may with the consent of the Treasury require the local authority to repay the grant, in whole or in part, if the secure accommodation in respect of which the grant was made (including such accommodation in a controlled community home) cease to be used as such.

In this section “secure accommodation” means accommodation provided for the purposes of restricting the liberty of children in a community home.

Any power conferred on the Secretary of State by this Act to make an order or regulations, except an order under section 35(1) or 40(2) of this Act, shall be exercisable by statutory instrument.

Any statutory instrument made in exercise of any power to make regulations or orders conferred by this Act, except an instrument containing only an order under section 43 of this Act, shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.

Any directions given by the Secretary of State under any provision of this Act may be revoked or varied by subsequent directions under that provision.

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires—

• “arrears order” has the meaning assigned to it by section 51 of this Act;

• “care order” has the meaning assigned to it by section 20 of the M67Children and Young Persons Act 1969;

• “child” means a person under the age of eighteen years and any person who has attained that age and is the subject of a care order;

• “commission area” has the same meaning as in section 1 of the Justices of the M68Peace Act 1979;

• “compulsory school age” has the same meaning as in the M69Education Act 1944;

• “contribution order” has the meaning assigned to it by section 47 of this Act;

• “functions” includes powers and duties;

• “guardian” means a person appointed by deed or will or by order of a court of competent jurisdiction to be the guardian of a child;

• “hospital” has the meaning assigned to it by section 128(1) of the M70National Health Service Act 1977;

• “instrument of management” means an instrument of management made under section 35 of this Act;

• “interim order”, in relation to a care order, has the meaning assigned to it by section 20 of the M71Children and Young Persons Act 1969;

• “local authority” means the council of a county (other than a metropolitan county), of a metropolitan district or of a London borough or the Common Council of the City of London;

• “local education authority” means a local education authority for the purpose of the M72Education Act 1944;

• “parent”, in relation to a child who is illegitimate, means his mother, to the exclusion of his father;

• “planning area” had the meaning assigned to it by section 31(1) of this Act;

• “regional plan” has the meaning assigned to it by section 32(1) of this Act;

• “relative”, in relation to a child, means a grand-parent, brother, sister uncle or aunt, whether of the full blood, of the half blood, or by affinity, and includes, where the child is illegitimate, the father of the child and any person who would be a relative of the child within the meaning of this definition if the child were the legitimate child of his mother and father;

• “the relevant authorities”, in relation to a planning area, has the meaning assigned to it by section 31(3) of this Act;

• “supervision requirement” has the same meaning as in the M73Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968;

• “trust deed” has the meaning assigned to it by section 36 of this Act:

• “voluntary home” has the meaning assigned to it by section 56 of this Act;

• “voluntary organisation” means a body the activities of which are carried on otherwise than for profit, but does not include any public or local authority.

Any reference in this Act to an enactment of the Parliament of Northern Ireland shall be construed as a reference to that enactment as amended by any Act of that Parliament or by any Measure of the Northern Ireland Assembly, whether passed before or after this Act, and to any enactment of that Parliament or Assembly for the time being in force which re-enacts the said enactment with or without modifications.

This Act shall have effect subject to the transitional provisions and savings set out in Schedule 4 to this Act.

The enactments specified in Schedule 5 to this Act shall have effect subject to the amendments specified in that Schedule, being amendments consequential on the provisions of this Act.

The enactments specified in Schedule 6 to this Act are repealed to the extent specified in the third column of that Schedule.

The inclusion in this Act of any express saving or amendment shall not be taken as prejudicing the operation of section 16 or 17 of the M74Interpretation Act 1978 (which relate to the effect of repeals).

Subject to the provisions of subsections (2), (3) and (4) below, this Act shall come into force on such date as the Secretary of State may by order appoint.

If, on the date appointed under subsection (1) above, the provision of section 58 of the M75Children Act 1975 which provides for the insertion into the M76Children Act 1948 of section 4B (guardians ad litem and reports in care proceedings) is not in force, then section 7 of this Act (and the repeal by this Act of section 58 of the Act of 1975 and section 4B of the Act of 1948) shall not come into force until the date appointed under section 108(2) of the Act of 1975 for the coming into force of that provision.

If, on the date appointed under subsection (1) above, paragraph 71(b) of Schedule 3 to the Children Act 1975 is not in force, then section 20 of this Act (and the repeal by this Act of the said paragraph 71 and section 27(4) of the Children and Young Persons Act 1969) shall not come into force until the date appointed under section 108(2) of the Act of 1975 for the coming into force of that paragraph; and, until that paragraph is in force, section 20 of this Act shall have effect as if in subsection (1) of that section for the words from “to review the case” to the end of the section there were substituted the words— “ who have at any time had a child in their care throughout the preceding six months and have not during that period held a review of his case in pursuance of this section to review his case as soon as is practicable after the expiration of that period and, if a care order is in force with respect to him, to consider in the course of the review whether to make an application for the discharge of the order ”.

If, on the date appointed under subsection (1) above, sections 60 to 63 of the Children Act 1975 (which relate to the transfer of parental rights and duties to voluntary organisations) are not in force, then sections 64 to 67 of this Act (and the repeal by this Act of the said sections 60 to 63) shall not come into force until the date appointed under section 108(2) of the Act of 1975 for the coming into force of those sections. C4

This Act may be cited as the Child Care Act 1980.

Section 16(1) and (5) of this Act and this section extend to the Channel Islands.

It is hereby declared that the provisions of section 87 of this Act extend to each of the countries aforesaid so far as appropriate for the purposes of any other provision of this Act which extends to the country in question.