Children Act 1989

Long title	An Act to reform the law relating to children; to provide for local authority services for children in need and others; to amend the law with respect to children’s homes, community homes, voluntary homes and voluntary organisations; to make provision with respect to fostering, child minding and day care for young children and adoption; and for connected purposes.
Citation	1989 Chapter 41
Territorial extent	Great Britain and Ireland
Dates
Royal assent	16 November 1989 (1989-11-16)
Text of statute as originally enacted
Revised text of statute as amended

The Children Act 1989 allocated duties to local authorities, courts, parents and other agencies to ensure children are safeguarded and their welfare is promoted. It centres on the idea that children are best cared for within their own families; however, it also makes provisions for instances when parents and families do not co-operate with statutory bodies.

Contents of the Act

Part I Introductory

Welfare of the child

The Children Act 1989 states that children’s welfare should be the paramount concern to the courts. It also specifies that any delays in the system processes will have a detrimental impact on a child’s welfare. The court should take into account the child’s wishes; physical, emotional & educational needs; age; sex; background circumstances; the likely effect of change on the child; the harm the child has suffered or is likely to suffer; parents ability to meet the child’s needs and the powers available to the court.

Parental responsibility

Parental responsibility is defined in the act as “all the rights, duties, powers, responsibilities and authority which by law a parent of a child has in relation to the child and his property”. If the child’s parents are married; both have parental responsibility; however, if they are not married the father does not automatically have parental responsibility. A father of a child, who was not married to the mother at time of birth, may apply to the courts for parental responsibility or this may be done through mutual agreement between the mother (or child) and father. The act specifies that more than one person can have parental responsibility though they can act alone in decision making for the child. If a child does not have anyone to care for them with parental responsibility; a guardian can be appointed by the court; this can be overturned on application of the parent with parental responsibility, by the child or in family proceedings.

Section 7 Reports

Under Section 7 of the Act the court can requests probation officers or Local Authorities to provided reports to the court in respect of the welfare of the child.

Part II Orders With Respect To Children In Family Proceedings

Residence, Contact, Prohibited Steps and Specific Issue Orders

Section 8 of the Children Act 1989 outlines the orders which can issued by the court. A ‘contact order’ outlines the requirements, of the person the child resides with, to allow contact with another person. A ‘prohibited steps order’ prevents a parent from exercising their full parental responsibility without consent of the court. A ‘residence order’ puts in place the arrangements for whom a child should live with. A ‘specific issue order relates to directions given from the court to address a query that has arisen regarding parental responsibility for a child. Section 8 orders cannot be made in regards to children who are looked after; with the exception of the residence order. When an application is made to the court for a section 8 order the court takes into account: the nature of the proposed application; the connection the person has to the child; the disruption that could be caused to the child and, if the child is being looked after by the local authority: the local authorities plans for the child’s future and the wishes of the child’s parents. A person who gains a residence order for a child will hold parental responsibility for the time the order is in place. Despite this, the Act forbids anyone to change the child’s surname or remove them from the United Kingdom without permission from all those with parental responsibility or with express permission from the court. Under section 63(3) of the [1980 c. 43.] Magistrates' Courts Act 1980 the court has powers to punish those who do not abide by the ruling set out in the residence order.

Family assistance orders

The court has the power to issue a ‘family assistance order’ in which a probation officer or local authority officer should be available to ‘advise, assist and (where appropriate) befriend any person named in the order’.

Part III Local Authority Support for Children and Families

Children in Need

Each local authority has a duty to ‘safeguard and promote the welfare’ of children who are assessed as being in ‘need’. A child is deemed as ‘in need’ if they are disabled or unlikely to achieve a reasonable standard of health or development unless services are provided. The local authority has a duty to provide or facilitate others to provide services for children in need. The local authority must provide day care for children in need who are under 5years old and not attending school if appropriate. There should also be provisions for out-of-school hours activities.

Accommodation and looked after children

Under section 20 of the act local authorities must provide accommodation for any child in need who has no-one with parental responsibility to care for them. This may also be extended to children that have a parent available if it is deemed that by staying with them it would put the child at risk.

A community home placement may be deemed necessary for persons between the ages of 16 to 21 to promote their welfare and safety.

The Act specifies the need to give consideration to children’s views when deciding where to accommodate them. Persons with parental responsibility should also be consulted and if they object the child (unless they are over 16 years old) cannot be accommodated under Section 20 of this Act; the parent can also remove the child from the accommodation provided at any time. Accommodation must also be provided when requested in the cases of Police Protection Orders or for children on remand or supervision orders that require them to be accommodated. The local authority has duties to safeguard and promote the welfare of the children looked after by them. The child, parents and other relevant people should be consulted in the decision making process regarding a child become looked after and their care during the time in local authority care. Consideration should also be given to the child’s age, understanding, religion, race, culture and linguistic background.

Sibling groups should be placed together and should be accommodated near their home if possible.

Looked after children should not be placed in accommodation which restricts their liberty (‘secure accommodation’) unless they have a history or are likely to abscond and are at risk of suffering significant harm or are likely to cause harm to themselves or others. For a court to make a decision regarding placing a child in secure accommodation they must be satisfied that the child has legal representation or has been fully informed about how to access legal aid.

Children Leaving Care

Children leaving care should be given advice and assistance from the local authority; this may involve giving assistance in kind or in exceptional circumstances in cash. They may also contribute to the expenses incurred by the young person regarding employment, training or education.

Reviewing Cases

Section 26 of the act outlines the obligation of the local authority to review cases regularly and they should have a complaints procedure available to the children they are caring for.

Multi-agency working

Local authorities also have a duty to communicate and share information with other agencies if it complies with their own statutory obligations. The local authority must consult with educational authorities when a child becomes looks after and ensure they are informed of the educational arrangements for the child.

Payment for services

A fee may apply to services provided under Sections 17 and 18 of the act (‘other than advice, guidance or counselling’) to the parents of the child, the young person if over 16 or to a family member (if they receive the service). Though the local authority should only charge them if it is reasonable to assume they can pay for the service.

PART IV CARE AND SUPERVISION

Care and supervision orders

A care or supervision order may be granted by the court if a child is or is likely to suffer significant harm if they are not placed into local authority care. This also includes children who are ‘beyond parental control’. The court may grant a care order in place of a supervision order if they believe it is more appropriate or vice-versa. If, during family court the court has concerns for a child’s welfare, they can direct the local authority to investigate. The local authority can then decide if they are going to apply for a care order or supervision order. If they decided not to take any legal action, they must explain to the court their reasons for doing so.

Care orders

When a care order is issued the local authority must take the child into care and accommodate them for the period of time the order is in force. The local authority will have parental responsibility for the child. Parents and guardians should be given reasonable amounts of contact with the child during the time they are in care unless otherwise directed by the court. However, in urgent situations to protect the child the local authority may refuse contact for up to seven days. Local authorities may apply to the court to prevent contact to safeguard or promote the child’s welfare.

Supervision orders

A supervision order makes it the duty of the supervisor to ‘advise, assist and befriend’ the child and to consider applying to the court for a variation on the order if it is not being fully complied with. An education supervision order may be granted if it is deemed that a child is not being properly educated. Before an application for an order is made, the education authority must consult with the ‘social service committee’.

Interim orders

An interim order may be issued if it is deemed that without it the child is likely to suffer significant harm. The interim care or supervision order can be in place for upto 8 weeks; during this period the court can request that medical examinations or assessments are completed of the child. However, if a child is able to make an informed decision, they may refuse to participate in any examinations or assessments.

Guardians ad litem

A guardian ad litem shall be appointed by the court to safeguard the child’s interests unless this is deemed not be required by the court. The court can also appoint a solicitor to represent the child. A guardian ad litem is to have access to and take copies of any local authority records relating to the child concerned.

References