Part II Promotion of Children’s Welfare by Local Authorities and by Children’s Hearings etc.
C1 Chapter 1 Support for Children and Their Families
Provision of services
24 Assessment of ability of carers to provide care for disabled children.
F11
Subject to subsection (2) below, a person (“the carer”) who provides, or intends to provide, a substantial amount of care on a regular basis for a disabled child may, whether or not the carer is a child, request a local authority to make an assessment (“the carer’s assessment”) of the carer’s ability to provide or to continue to provide such care for the child.
1A
The local authority to whom the request is made shall—
a
comply with the request where it appears to them that the child, or another person in the child’s family, is a person for whom they must or may provide services under section 22(1) of this Act; and
b
if they then or subsequently make an assessment under section 23(3) of this Act to determine the needs of the child, have regard to the results of the carer’s assessment—
i
in the assessment of the child; and
ii
in making a decision as to the discharge by them of any duty they may have as respects the child under section 2(1) of the Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act 1970 (c.44) or under section 22(1) of this Act.
2
No request may be made under subsection (1) above by a person who provides or will provide the care in question—
a
under or by virtue of a contract of employment or other contract; or
b
as a volunteer for a voluntary organisation.
3
Where an assessment of a carer’s ability to continue to provide, or as the case may be to provide, care for a child is carried out under subsection (1) above, there shall, as respects the child, be no requirement under section 8 of the M1Disabled Persons (Services, Consultation and Representation) Act 1986 (carer’s ability to continue to provide care to be considered in any decision as respects provision of certain services for disabled persons) to have regard to that ability.
4
In this section “person” means a natural person.
Pt. II Ch. 1 (ss. 16-38) modifed (1.4.1997) by S.I. 1996/3255, reg. 7(1)