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Power of local authority to impose requirements
Exemptions <Back to Top>
1 A child
is not a privately fostered child while he is being looked after by a local
authority.
2 (1) A child is not a privately fostered child while
he is in the care of any person—
(a) in premises in which
any—
(i) parent of his;
(ii) person who is not a
parent of his but who has parental responsibility for him; or(iii)person who is
a relative of his and who has assumed responsibility for his care,is for the time being living;
(b) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . .
(c) in accommodation
provided by or on behalf of any voluntary organisation;
(d) in any school in
which he is receiving full-time education;
(e) in any health
service hospital;
(f) in any care home or
independent hospital
(g) in any home or
institution not specified in this paragraph but provided, equipped and
maintained by the Secretary of State.
(2) Sub-paragraph (1)(c) to (g) does not apply
where the person caring for the child is doing so in his personal capacity and
not in the course of carrying out his duties in relation to the establishment
mentioned in the paragraph in question.
3 A child is
not a privately fostered child while he is in the care of any person in
compliance with—
(a) a youth
rehabilitation order made under section 1 of the Criminal Justice and
Immigration Act 2008;
(b) a supervision
requirement within the meaning of Part II of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995.
4 A child
is not a privately fostered child while he is liable to be detained, or subject
to guardianship, under the M1Mental Health Act 1983.
5 A child
is not a privately fostered child while he is placed in the care of a person
who proposes to adopt him under arrangements made by an adoption agency within
the meaning of—
(a) section 2 of the
Adoption and Children Act 2002;
(b) section 1 of the
Adoption (Scotland) Act 1978; or
(c) Article 3 of the Adoption (Northern Ireland)
Order 1987 or while he is a child in respect of whom a local authority have
functions by virtue of regulations under section 83(6)(b) of the Adoption and
Children Act 2002 (which relates to children brought into the United Kingdom
for adoption), or corresponding functions by virtue of regulations under
section 1 of the Adoption (Intercountry Aspects) Act
1999 (regulations to give effect to Hague Convention on Protection of Children
and Co-operation in respect of Intercountry
Adoption).
Power of local authority to impose
requirements <Back to Top>
6 (1) Where a person is
fostering any child privately, or proposes to foster any child privately, the
appropriate local authority may impose on him requirements as to—
(a) the number, age and
sex of the children who may be privately fostered by him;
(b) the standard of the
accommodation and equipment to be provided for them;
(c) the arrangements to be made with respect to
their health and safety; and(d)particular arrangements
which must be made with respect to the provision of care for them, and it shall
be his duty to comply with any such requirement before the end of such period
as the authority may specify unless, in the case of a proposal, the proposal is
not carried out.
(2) A
requirement may be limited to a particular child, or class of child.
(3) A
requirement (other than one imposed under sub-paragraph (1)(a))
may be limited by the authority so as to apply only when the number of children
fostered by the person exceeds a specified number.
(4) A
requirement shall be imposed by notice in writing addressed to the person on
whom it is imposed and informing him of—
(a) the reason for
imposing the requirement;
(b) his right under
paragraph 8 to appeal against it; and
(c) the time within
which he may do so.
(5) A local
authority may at any time vary any requirement, impose any additional
requirement or remove any requirement.
(6) In this
Schedule—
(a) “the appropriate
local authority” means—
(i) the local authority within whose area the child is being
fostered; or
(ii) in the case of a proposal to foster a child,
the local authority within whose area it is proposed that he will be fostered;
and
(b) “requirement”, in relation
to any person, means a requirement imposed on him under this paragraph.
Regulations
requiring notification of fostering etc. <Back to Top>
7 (1) The Secretary of State may by regulations
make provision as to—
(a) the circumstances in which notification is
required to be given in connection with children who are, have been or are
proposed to be fostered privately; and
(b) the manner and form
in which such notification is to be given.
(2) The
regulations may, in particular—
(a) require any person
who is, or proposes to be, involved (whether or not directly) in arranging for
a child to be fostered privately to notify the appropriate authority;
(b) require any person
who is—
(i) a parent of a child; or
(ii) a person who is not
a parent of his but who has parental responsibility for a child, and who knows
that it is proposed that the child should be fostered privately, to notify the
appropriate authority;
(c) require any parent
of a privately fostered child, or person who is not a parent of such a child
but who has parental responsibility for him, to notify the appropriate
authority of any change in his address;
(d) require any person
who proposes to foster a child privately, to notify the appropriate authority
of his proposal;
(e) require any person
who is fostering a child privately, or proposes to do so, to notify the
appropriate authority of—
(i) any offence of which he has been convicted;
(ii) any
disqualification imposed on him under section
68; or
(iii) any prohibition
imposed on him under section
69;
(f) require any person
who is fostering a child privately, to notify the appropriate authority of any
change in his address;
(g) require any person
who is fostering a child privately to notify the appropriate authority in
writing of any person who begins, or ceases, to be part of his household;
(h) require any person
who has been fostering a child privately, but has ceased to do so, to notify
the appropriate authority (indicating, where the child has died, that that is
the reason).
7A Every local authority must promote public awareness in their
area of requirements as to notification for which provision is made under
paragraph 7.
Appeals <Back to Top>
8
(1) A person aggrieved by—
(a) a requirement
imposed under paragraph 6;
(b) a refusal of consent
under section
68;
(c) a prohibition
imposed under section
69;
(d) a refusal to cancel
such a prohibition;
(e) a refusal to make an
exemption under paragraph 4 of Schedule 7;
(f) a condition imposed
in such an exemption; or
(g) a variation or
cancellation of such an exemption may appeal to the court.
(2) The
appeal must be made within fourteen days from the date on which the person
appealing is notified of the requirement, refusal, prohibition, condition,
variation or cancellation.
(3) Where
the appeal is against—
(a) a requirement
imposed under paragraph 6;
(b) a condition of an
exemption imposed under paragraph 4 of Schedule 7; or
(c) a variation or
cancellation of such an exemption, the requirement, condition, variation or
cancellation shall not have effect while the appeal is pending.
(4) Where it
allows an appeal against a requirement or prohibition, the court may, instead
of cancelling the requirement or prohibition—
(a) vary the
requirement, or allow more time for compliance with it; or
(b) if an absolute prohibition has been imposed,
substitute for it a prohibition on using the premises after such time as the
court may specify unless such specified requirements as the local authority had
power to impose under paragraph 6 are complied with.
(5) Any
requirement or prohibition specified or substituted by a court under this
paragraph shall be deemed for the purposes of Part
IX (other than this paragraph) to have been imposed by the local authority
under paragraph 6 or (as the case may be) section
69.
(6) Where it
allows an appeal against a refusal to make an exemption, a condition imposed in
such an exemption or a variation or cancellation of such an exemption, the
court may—
(a) make an exemption;
(b) impose a condition;
or
(c) vary the exemption.
(7) Any
exemption made or varied under sub-paragraph (6), or any condition imposed
under that sub-paragraph, shall be deemed for the purposes of Schedule 7 (but
not for the purposes of this paragraph) to have been made, varied or imposed
under that Schedule.
(8) Nothing
in sub-paragraph (1)(e) to (g) confers any right of
appeal on—
(a) a person who is, or
would be if exempted under Schedule 7, a local authority foster parent; or
(b) a person who is, or
would be if so exempted, a person with whom a child is placed by a voluntary
organisation.
Extension of Part IX to certain school
children during holidays <Back to Top>
9 (1) Where a child under sixteen who is a pupil
at a school. . . lives at the school during school holidays for a period of
more than two weeks, Part IX shall apply in relation to the child as if—
(a) while living at the
school, he were a privately fostered child; and
(b) paragraphs 2(1)(c)
and (d) and 6 were omitted. But this sub-paragraph does not apply to a school
which is an appropriate children’s home.
(2) Sub-paragraph
(3) applies to any person who proposes to care for and accommodate one or more
children at a school in circumstances in which some or all of them will be
treated as private foster children by virtue of this paragraph.
(3) That
person shall, not less than two weeks before the first of those children is
treated as a private foster child by virtue of this paragraph during the
holiday in question, give written notice of his proposal to the local authority
within whose area the child is ordinarily resident (“the appropriate
authority"), stating the estimated number of the children.
(4) A local
authority may exempt any person from the duty of giving notice under
sub-paragraph (3).
(5) Any such
exemption may be granted for a special period or indefinitely and may be
revoked at any time by notice in writing given to the person exempted.
(6) Where a
child who is treated as a private foster child by virtue of this paragraph
dies, the person caring for him at the school shall, not later than 48 hours
after the death, give written notice of it—
(a) to the appropriate
local authority; and
(b) where reasonably
practicable, to each parent of the child and to every person who is not a
parent of his but who has parental responsibility for him.
(7) Where a
child who is treated as a foster child by virtue of this paragraph ceases for
any other reason to be such a child, the person caring for him at the school
shall give written notice of the fact to the appropriate local authority.
Prohibition of advertisements relating
to fostering <Back to Top>
10 No advertisement
indicating that a person will undertake, or will arrange for, a child to be
privately fostered shall be published, unless it states that person’s name and
address.
Avoidance of
insurances on lives of privately fostered children <Back to Top>
11 A person
who fosters a child privately and for reward shall be deemed for the purposes
of the Life Assurance Act 1774 to have no interest in the life of the child.
Support <Back to Top>
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