Part II Promotion of Children’s Welfare by Local Authorities and by Children’s Hearings etc.

Chapter 4 Parental Responsibilities Orders, etc.

Interpretation of Part II

93 Interpretation of Part II.

(1)

In this Part of this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,—

“accommodation” shall be construed in accordance with section 25(8) of this Act;

“chief social work officer” means an officer appointed under section 3 of the M1Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968;

“child assessment order” has the meaning given by section 55(1) of this Act;

“child protection order” has the meaning given by section 57(1) of this Act;

“children’s hearing” shall be construed in accordance with section 39(3), but does not include a business meeting arranged under section 64, of this Act;

“compulsory measures of supervision” means, in respect of a child, such measures of supervision as may be imposed upon him by a children’s hearing;

“constable” means a constable of a police force within the meaning of the M2Police (Scotland) Act 1967;

“contact order” has the meaning given by section 11(2)(d) of this Act;

“disabled” has the meaning given by section 23(2) of this Act;

“exclusion order” has the meaning given by section 76(12) of this Act;

“family”, in relation to a child, includes—

(a)

any person who has parental responsibility for the child; and

(b)

any other person with whom the child has been living;

“local authority” means a council constituted under section 2 of the M3Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994;

“local government area” shall be construed in accordance with section 1 of the said Act of 1994;

“parental responsibilities” has the meaning given by section 1(3) of this Act;

“parental responsibilities order” has the meaning given by section 86(1) of this Act;

“parental rights” has the meaning given by section 2(4) of this Act;

“place of safety”, in relation to a child, means—

(a)

a residential or other establishment provided by a local authority;

(b)

a community home within the meaning of section 53 of the M4Children Act 1989;

(c)

a police station;

(d)

F1a hospital, or surgery, the person or body of persons responsible for the management of which is willing temporarily to receive the child;

(e)

the dwelling-house of a suitable person who is so willing; or

(f)

any other suitable place the occupier of which is so willing.

“the Principal Reporter” means the Principal Reporter appointed under section 127 of the said Act of 1994 or any officer of the Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration to whom there is delegated, under section 131(1) of that Act, any function of the Principal Reporter under this Act;

“relevant local authority”, in relation to a child who is subject to a warrant granted under this Part of this Act or to a supervision requirement, means the local authority for whose area the children’s panel from which the children’s hearing which granted the warrant or imposed the supervision requirement was formed;

“residence order” has the meaning given by section 11(2)(c) of this Act;

“residential establishment”—

(a)

in relation to a place in Scotland, means an establishment (whether managed by a local authority, by a voluntary organisation or by any other person) which provides residential accommodation for children for the purposes of this Act or the M5Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968;

(b)

in relation to a place in England and Wales, means a community home, voluntary home or F2private children’s home (within the meaning of the Children Act 1989); and

(c)

in relation to a place in Northern Ireland, means a home provided under Part VIII of the M6Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1995, or a voluntary home, or a registered children’s home (which have respectively the meanings given by that Order);

“school age” shall be construed in accordance with section 31 of the M7Education (Scotland) Act 1980;

“secure accommodation” means accommodation provided in a residential establishment, approved F3by the Scottish Ministers in accordance with regulations made under section 29(9)(a) of the Regulation of Care (Scotland) Act 2001 (asp 8) or by the Secretary of State in accordance with regulations made under F4. . . F5section 22(8)(a) of the Care Standards Act 2000, for the purpose of restricting the liberty of children;

“supervision requirement” has the meaning given by 70(1) of this Act, and includes any condition contained in such a requirement or related to it;

“voluntary organisation” means a body (other than a public or local authority) whose activities are not carried on for profit; and

“working day” means every day except—

(a)

Saturday and Sunday;

(b)

December 25th and 26th; and

(c)

January 1st and 2nd.

(2)

For the purposes of—

(a)

Chapter 1 and this Chapter (except this section) of this Part F6and section 44, “child” means a person under the age of eighteen years; and

(b)

F7Chapter 2 (except section 44) and Chapter 3 of this Part—

“child” means—

  1. (i)

    a child who has not attained the age of sixteen years;

  2. (ii)

    a child over the age of sixteen years who has not attained the age of eighteen years and in respect of whom a supervision requirement is in force; or

  3. (iii)

    a child whose case has been referred to a children’s hearing by virtue of section 33 of this Act;

and for the purposes of the application of those Chapters to a person who has failed to attend school regularly without reasonable excuse includes a person who is over sixteen years of age but is not over school age; and

“relevant person” in relation to a child means—

(a)

any parent enjoying parental responsibilities or parental rights under Part I of this Act;

(b)

any person in whom parental responsibilities or rights are vested by, under or by virtue of this Act; and

(c)

any person who appears to be a person who ordinarily (and other than by reason only of his employment) has charge of, or control over, the child.

(3)

Where, in the course of any proceedings under Chapter 2 or 3 of this Part, a child ceases to be a child within the meaning of subsection (2) above the provisions of those Chapters of this Part and of any statutory instrument made under those provisions, shall continue to apply to him as if he had not so ceased to be a child.

(4)

Any reference in this Part of this Act to a child—

(a)

being “in need”, is to his being in need of care and attention because—

(i)

he is unlikely to achieve or maintain, or to have the opportunity of achieving or maintaining, a reasonable standard of health or development unless there are provided for him, under or by virtue of this Part, services by a local authority;

(ii)

his health or development is likely significantly to be impaired, or further impaired, unless such services are so provided;

(iii)

he is disabled; or

(iv)

he is affected adversely by the disability of any other person in his family;

(b)

who is “looked after” by a local authority, shall be construed in accordance with section 17(6) of this Act.

(5)

Any reference to any proceedings under this Part of this Act, whether on an application or on appeal, being heard by the sheriff, shall be construed as a reference to such proceedings being heard by the sheriff in chambers.