The Child Trust Funds Regulations 2004

[F1The Official Solicitor or Accountant of Court to be the person who has the authority to manage an accountU.K.

This section has no associated Explanatory Memorandum

33A.—[F2(1) Every local authority shall be under a duty to—

(a)identify any child who—

(i)is born after 31st August 2002 and before 3rd January 2011,

(ii)is under 16 years of age at the end of the return period, and

(iii)during the return period falls within the circumstances specified in paragraph (2) for the first time since the child became looked after (in Scotland, looked after and accommodated) by the local authority; and

(b)deliver to the Board, within 10 days of the end of each return period and by means of electronic communications, a return for that period in a form specified by the Board containing the information specified in paragraph (2A) for each child identified under sub-paragraph (a).]

(2) The circumstances specified are where—

(a)the child is looked after (in Scotland, looked after and accommodated) by the local authority, and

(b)at least one of the following conditions is satisfied.

Condition 1

There is no person, or no person other than the local authority, who has parental responsibility (in Scotland, parental responsibilities) for the child.

Condition 2

It is part of the care plan for the child that—

(a)the child will live indefinitely away from home (or his former home), and

(b)the child will not have face to face contact with any parent having parental responsibility (in Scotland, parental responsibilities) for the child.

Condition 3

An order has been made under section 34(4) of the Children Act 1989 or Article 53(4) of the Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1995, authorising the local authority to refuse to allow contact between the child and any person with parental responsibility (or, in Scotland, a supervision requirement made with a condition regulating contact under section 70(5)(b) of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 that the child shall have no contact with a person with parental responsibilities), and there is no other individual with parental responsibility (in Scotland, parental responsibilities) for the child to act as registered contact.

Condition 4

The Court of Protection has—

(a)appointed a receiver for a person with parental responsibility for the child, or

(b)determined that such a person is a “patient” for the purposes of Part 7 of the Mental Health Act 1983,

and there is no other individual with parental responsibility for the child to act as registered contact.

In Scotland, in this Condition for—

(a)“Court of Protection” substitute “Sheriff”,

(b)“receiver” substitute “guardian appointed under section 58 of the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000”,

(c)the reference to a patient, substitute “incapable for the purposes of the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000,” and

(d)“parental responsibility” substitute “parental responsibilities”.

Condition 5

The child has been lost or abandoned, and there is no prospect for the foreseeable future of reunification of the child with a parent having parental responsibility (in Scotland, parental responsibilities) for the child.

In this Condition, “lost or abandoned”—

(a)in England and Wales, has the meaning in section 20(1)(b) of the Children Act 1989;

(b)in Northern Ireland, has the meaning in Article 21(1)(b) of the Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1995; and

(c)in Scotland, has the meaning in section 25(1)(b) of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995.

[F3Condition 6

In England and Wales, an adoption agency or local authority has been authorised to place the child for adoption under section 19, or by a placement order under section 21, of the Adoption and Children Act 2002, or

in Northern Ireland, an Order has been made under Article 17 or 18 of the Adoption (Northern Ireland) Order 1987 to free the child for adoption.]

[F4(2A) The information specified in this paragraph is—

(a)the name, address and unique identifier of the local authority making the return;

(b)the name of the local authority officer responsible for the return;

(c)the full name, sex and date of birth of the child;

(d)the full name and address of the child’s mother, if known by the local authority (or failing that the full name and address of the child’s father, if known), unless the local authority considers the child’s situation to be particularly sensitive;

(e)any information that the local authority has about whether the child is or may be a person subject to immigration control within the meaning of section 115(9) of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, and the nature of that information;

(f)a correspondence address for the child; and

(g)if known by the local authority, the child’s unique reference number as stated on the voucher issued under section 5(1) of the Child Trust Funds Act 2004 (if any).]

[F5(2B) The unique identifier of a local authority as referred to in paragraph (2A)(a) is the number allocated to the local authority by the Board for the purpose of these Regulations.]

(3) Where—

[F6(a)the local authority delivers to the Board a return under this regulation in respect of any child, and]

(b)the Board (subject to checking and if necessary correcting the contents of the form) delivers it to the Official Solicitor (where the child is in England and Wales or Northern Ireland) or the Accountant of Court (where the child is in Scotland),

the Official Solicitor or Accountant of Court, as the case may be, shall be the person who has the authority to manage the child’s account for the purposes of section 3(6)(b) of the Act.

(4) The Official Solicitor or Accountant of Court shall cease to be the person who has the authority to manage the child’s account (and shall be discharged from the duties of registered contact) where—

(a)the child attains the age of 16,

(b)in any case where the child is under 16 and still looked after (in Scotland, looked after and accommodated) by a local authority—

(i)the local authority confirms to the Official Solicitor or Accountant of Court that there is a named responsible person in relation to the child, who is able to be the registered contact for the child’s account, and that none of the Conditions in paragraph (2) applies, and

(ii)the Official Solicitor or Accountant of Court cancels his declaration and authorisation in accordance with regulation 13(7) and is replaced as registered contact by that responsible person, in accordance with regulation 13(10), or

(c)in any case where the child is under 16 and is not looked after (in Scotland, looked after and accommodated) by a local authority—

(i)a responsible person for the child provides evidence to the satisfaction of the Official Solicitor or Accountant of Court, as the case may be, that he has parental responsibility for the child, and

(ii)the Official Solicitor or Accountant of Court cancels his declaration and authorisation in accordance with regulation 13(7) and is replaced as registered contact by that responsible person, in accordance with regulation 13(10).

(5) A local authority shall, for the purposes of paragraph (4), confirm to the Official Solicitor or Accountant of Court, as the case may be—

(a)whether the child is still looked after (in Scotland, looked after and accommodated) by the authority, and

(b)the identity of the person or persons who had parental responsibility for the child at the date when he ceased to be looked after (in Scotland, looked after and accommodated) by the authority (or, at the option of the authority, any later date).

[F7(6) In this regulation—

“local authority” includes an authority within the meaning of the Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1995;

“looked after and accommodated child”, in Scotland, means a child who is—

(a)

both looked after, and provided with or placed in accommodation, by a local authority within the meaning of those expressions in Part 2 of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995, or

(b)

accommodated by a local authority under section 22 of that Act,

and related expressions shall be construed accordingly;

“looked after child”—

(a)

in England and Wales, has the meaning given in section 22(1) of the Children Act 1989, extended to include a child accommodated by a local authority under section 17 of that Act, and

(b)

in Northern Ireland, means a child accommodated under Part 4 of the Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1995,

and related expressions shall be construed accordingly;

“return period” means a period—

(a)

beginning on 7th April 2011 and ending on 6th May 2011, and

(b)

each succeeding period of one month.]]

Textual Amendments