Part XII Miscellaneous and General
Notification of children accommodated in certain establishments
I185 Children accommodated by health authorities and local education authorities.
1
Where a child is provided with accommodation by any F1F2Local Health Board , Special Health Authority,F3Primary Care Trust,F4National Health Service trustF5, NHS foundation trust or local education authority (“the accommodating authority”)—
a
for a consecutive period of at least three months; or
b
with the intention, on the part of that authority, of accommodating him for such a period,
the accommodating authority shall notify the responsible authority.
2
Where subsection (1) applies with respect to a child, the accommodating authority shall also notify the responsible authority when they cease to accommodate the child.
3
In this section “the responsible authority” means—
a
the local authority appearing to the accommodating authority to be the authority within whose area the child was ordinarily resident immediately before being accommodated; or
b
where it appears to the accommodating authority that a child was not ordinarily resident within the area of any local authority, the local authority within whose area the accommodation is situated.
4
Where a local authority have been notified under this section, they shall—
a
take such steps as are reasonably practicable to enable them to determine whether the child’s welfare is adequately safeguarded and promoted while he is accommodated by the accommodating authority; and
b
consider the extent to which (if at all) they should exercise any of their functions under this Act with respect to the child.