The Special Guardianship (Wales) Regulations 2005

Assessment of needs for special guardianship support services

5.—(1) Subject to paragraph (2), a local authority must, on request, carry out an assessment of the following persons' needs for special guardianship support services, namely—

(a) a person falling within section 14F(3)(a) to (c) of the Act;

(b) a child of a special guardian;

(c) a child in respect of whom an SGO is sought or a child in respect of whom the court has required a report;

(d) a child (other than one falling within (a) to (c) above) who is named in a report produced under section 14A(8) of the Act;

(e) a prospective special guardian; and

(f) a related person provided that before the request for an assessment was made arrangements were in place for contact between the person and the relevant child,

and, accordingly, the persons in sub-paragraphs (b) to (f) are hereby prescribed for the purposes of section 14F(3)(d) of the Act.

(2) Paragraph (1) does not apply unless—

(a) the person who has requested an assessment falls within any of sub-paragraphs (a) to (e) of paragraph (1) and he or she either—

(i) lives in the area of the local authority;

(ii) intends to live in that area;

(iii) is a child looked after by that authority; or

(iv) is a person in respect of whom the court asked the local authority to prepare a report under section 14A(9), or a child to whom such a report relates or would relate; or

(b) where the person falls within sub-paragraph (f) of paragraph (1), the relevant child lives or intends to live in the authority’s area or is looked after by the authority.

(3) An assessment of a person’s needs for special guardianship support services may be carried out by reference only to a particular special guardianship support service where—

(a) the person whose needs are being assessed has requested a particular special guardianship support service; or

(b) it appears to the authority that the person’s needs for special guardianship support services may be adequately assessed by reference only to a particular special guardianship support service.