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 M1Children Act 1975 which provides for the insertion into the M2Children 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.