Maximum period in secure accommodation without court authorisation
2.—(1) Subject to paragraph (2) and (3), the maximum period beyond which a local authority may not keep a child in secure accommodation without the authority of the court is an aggregate of 72 hours (whether or not consecutive) in any period of 28 days.
(2) Where—
(a)a child is kept in secure accommodation at any time between 12 midday on the day before and 12 midday on the day after a public holiday or a Sunday,
(b)during that time the maximum period of 72 hours would otherwise expire, and
(c)the child has in the 27 days before the day on which the latest period in secure accommodation began, already been kept in secure accommodation for an aggregate of more than 48 hours,
the maximum period is extended until 12 midday on the first day which is not a public holiday or a Sunday.
(3) Where a court gives authority for a child to be held in secure accommodation, any period during which the child was kept in secure accommodation prior to that period of authorisation shall be disregarded in calculating the maximum period in relation to any subsequent periods in secure accommodation after the court-authorised period has expired.