Part III MANDATORY AND DISCRETIONARY REFERRAL OF YOUNG OFFENDERS
Referral orders
20 Making of referral orders: attendance of parents etc.
1
A court making a referral order may make an order requiring—
a
the appropriate person, or
b
in a case where there are two or more appropriate persons, any one or more of them,
to attend the meetings of the youth offender panel.
2
Where an offender is aged under 16 when a court makes a referral order in his case—
a
the court shall exercise its power under subsection (1) above so as to require at least one appropriate person to attend meetings of the youth offender panel; and
b
if the offender falls within subsection (6) below, the person or persons so required to attend those meetings shall be or include a representative of the local authority mentioned in that subsection.
3
The court shall not under this section make an order requiring a person to attend meetings of the youth offender panel—
a
if the court is satisfied that it would be unreasonable to do so; or
b
to an extent which the court is satisfied would be unreasonable.
4
Except where the offender falls within subsection (6) below, each person who is a parent or guardian of the offender is an “appropriate person” for the purposes of this section.
5
Where the offender falls within subsection (6) below, each of the following is an “appropriate person” for the purposes of this section—
a
a representative of the local authority mentioned in that subsection; and
b
each person who is a parent or guardian of the offender with whom the offender is allowed to live.
6
An offender falls within this subsection if he is (within the meaning of the M1Children Act 1989) a child who is looked after by a local authority.
7
If, at the time when a court makes an order under this section—
a
a person who is required by the order to attend meetings of a youth offender panel is not present in court, or
b
a local authority whose representative is so required to attend such meetings is not represented in court,
the court must send him or (as the case may be) the authority a copy of the order forthwith.