The Law

The Adoption & Children Act 2002

The Adoption and Children Act modernises the whole existing legal framework for domestic and intercountry adoption. It also introduces a new legal order, special guardianship, which offers legal permanence for children for whom adoption is not suitable.

> Full text of the act and summaries of the main provisions
> Commencement Orders and Regulations
> Guidance
> National Minimum Standards
> Practice Directions and Court Rules
> New forms for implementation of Adoption and Children Act
> BAAF's work on the Adoption & Children Bill
> Further sources of information
> Other relevant information

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Full text of the act

The Adoption and Children Act 2002 is available online at www.legislation.hmso.gov.uk/acts/acts2002/20020038.htm and the accompanying Explanatory Note is available at: www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/en2002/2002en38.htm

The implementation of the Act

The Adoption and Children Act came fully into force on 30th December 2005. Below are details of the regulations, guidance, standards, training materials and forms that accompany the Act.

Commencement Orders

England and Wales

The Adoption and Children Act 2002 (Commencement No.1) (Wales) Order 2003 (Welsh SI 2003 No.181)
The Adoption and Children Act 2002 (Commencement No.2) Order 2003 (SI 2003 No.288
The Adoption and Children Act 2002 (Commencement No.3) Order 2003 (SI 2003 No.366)
The Adoption and Children Act 2002 (Commencement No.4) Order 2003 (SI 2003 No.3079)
The Adoption and Children Act 2002 (Commencement No.5) (Wales) Order 2004 (Welsh SI 2004 No.252)
The Adoption and Children Act 2002 (Commencement No.6) Order 2004 (SI 2004 No.1403)
The Adoption and Children Act 2002 (Commencement No.7) Order 2004 (SI 2004 No.3203)
The Adoption and Children Act 2002 (Commencement No.8) (Wales) Order 2005 (Welsh SI 2005 No.1206)
The Adoption and Children Act 2002 (Commencement No.9) Order 2005 (SI 2005 No.2213)
The Adoption and Children Act 2002 (Commencement No. 10 Transitional and Savings Provisions) Order 2005 (SI 2005 No.2897)
The Adoption and Children Act 2002 (Commencement No. 11)(Wales) Order 2005 (Welsh SI 2005 No.3112 (W.134))

Scotland

• The Adoption and Children Act 2002 (Commencement No. 1) (Scotland) Order 2005 (Scottish SI 2005 No.643 (C.33))

Regulations

England and Wales

• The Advocacy Services and Representations Procedure (Children) (Amendment) Regulations 2004 (SI 2004 No.719)
• The Review of Children's Cases (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2004 (SI 2004 No.1419)
• The Adoption Agencies Regulations 2005 (SI 2005 No.389)
• The Adoptions with a Foreign Element Regulations 2005 (SI 2005 No.392)
• The Adoption Support Services Regulations 2005 (SI 2005 No.691)
• The Disclosure of Adoption Information (Post-commencement Adoptions) Regulations 2005 (SI 2005 No.888)
• The Adoption Information and Intermediary Services (Pre-commencement Adoptions) Regulations 2005 (SI 2005 No.890)
• The Adopted Children and Adoption Contact Registers Regulations 2005 (SI 2005 No.924)
• The Special Guardianship Regulations 2005 (SI 2005 No.1109)
• The Restriction on the Preparation of Adoption Reports Regulations 2005 (SI 2005 No.1711)
• The Suitability of Adopters Regulations 2005 (SI 2005 No.1712)
• The Adoption Support Agencies (England) and Adoption Agencies (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2005 (SI 2005 No.2720)
• The Family Procedure (Adoption) Rules 2005 (SI 2005 No.2795)
• Transitional Arrangements (Commencement No. 10 Transitional and Savings Provisions) Order 2005 (SI 2005 No.2897)
• The Electronic Commerce Directive (Adoption and Children Act 2002) Regulations 2005 (SI 2005 No.3222)
• The Independent Review of Determinations (Adoption) Regulations 2005 (SI 2005 No.3332)
• The Local Authority Adoption Service (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2005 (SI 2005 No.3339)
• The Voluntary Adoption Agencies (Amendment) Regulations 2005 (SI 2005 No.3341)
• The Local Authority (Adoption) (Miscellaneous Provisions) Regulations 2005 (SI 2005 No.3390)
• Adoption and Children (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2005 (SI 2005 No.3482) - the main points are also outlined in a note prepared by the BAAF Legal Adviser
• The Adoption and Children Act 2002 (Consequential Amendments) Order 2005 (SI 2005 No.3504)

Wales only

• The Adoption Agencies (Wales) Regulations 2005 (Welsh SI 2005 No.1313 (W.95))
• The Adoption Support Services (Local Authorities) (Wales) Regulations 2005 (Welsh SI 2005 No.1512 (W.116))
• The Adoption Support Agencies (Wales) Regulations 2005 (Welsh SI 2005 No.1514 (W.118))
• The Independent Review of Determinations (Adoption) (Wales) Regulations 2005 (Welsh SI 2005 No.1819 (W.147))
• The Access to Information (Post-Commencement Adoptions) (Wales) Regulations 2005 (SI 2005 No.2689 (W.189))
• The Adoption Information and Intermediary Services (Pre-Commencement Adoptions) (Wales) Regulations 2005 (Welsh SI 2005 No.2701 (W.190))
• The Local Authority (Non-agency Adoptions) (Wales) Regulations 2005 (Welsh SI 2005 No.3113 (W.233))
• Local Authorities (Prescribed Fees) (Adoptions with a Foreign Element) (Wales) Regulations 2005 (Welsh SI 2005 No.3114 (W.234))
• The Local Authority Adoption Service (Wales) Regulations 2005 (Welsh SI 2005 No.3115 (W.235))
• The Adoption Information and Intermediary Services (Pre-Commencement Adoptions) (Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2005 (SI 2005 No.3293 (W.253))

Earlier Implementation

These regulations were introduced in 2003 and 2004 but have now been replaced by the Statutory Instruments above:

• The Adoption Support Services (Local Authorities) (England) Regulations 2003 (SI 2003 No.1348)
• The Independent Review of Determinations (Adoption) Regulations 2004 (SI 2004 No.190)
• The Independent Review of Determinations (Adoption) (Amendment) Regulations 2004 (SI 2004 No.1081)
• The Independent Review of Determinations (Hague Convention Adoptions and Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2004 (SI 2004 No.1868)

Guidance

The DfES has published statutory guidance explaining the content of the regulations made under the 2002 Act and the duties and responsibilities that the regulations place on adoption agencies.

• Introduction
• 1 - Adoption Agency arrangements
• 2 - Considering and deciding whether a child should be placed for adoption
• 3 - Preparing, assessing and approving prospective adopters
• 4 - Matching and proposing a placement
• 5 - Placement and reviews
• 6 - Adoption records
• 7 - Modifications to the Children Act 1989, contact and parental responsibility
• 8 - Court reports - This chapter will follow at a later date
• 9 - Adoption support
• 10 - Pre-commencement adoptions: intermediary services
• 11 - Post-commencement adoptions: access to information
• 12 - Adopted Children and Adoption Contact Registers
• 13 - Intercountry Adoption: prescribed fees

• Annex A - Effect of placement orders and adoption orders
• Annex B - Supplemental guidance on the Adoption Agencies Regulations 2005
• Annex C - Adoptions with a Foreign Element
• Annex D - Independent Review Mechanism - Suitability to Adopt a Child
• Annex E - Statutory Adoption Pay
• Annex F - Isle of Man and Channel Islands
• Annex G - Glossary
• Annex H - Regulations
• Annex I - Transitional Provisions

Additional Guidance and Information

• Preparing and Assessing Prospective Adopters Practice Guidance (2006)
• Special guardianship
• Independent Reviewing Officers guidance (2004)
• Intercountry adoption guide (May 2003)
• Get it sorted - Providing effective advocacy services for children and young people making a complaint under the Children Act 1989

National Minimum Standards

The Department for Education and Skills (DfES) has published the following guidance

• National Minimum Standards for Adoption Support Agencies (England)
• Addendum to the Adoption National Minimum Standards for voluntary adoption agencies in England and Wales and local authority adoption services in England

Training materials

Information about training materials designed to support the implementation of the Adoption & Children Act 2002 can be found on the Every Child Matters website www.everychildmatters.gov.uk/socialcare/lookedafterchildren/adoption/training/materials/

Adoption Rules 2005, Practice Directions and prescribed court report forms

The new Family Procedure (Adoption) Rules, which came into force on 30th December 2005, mean that practice and procedure for all elements of adoption proceedings across all levels of courts are now governed by one set of rules. The DCS has published:

• Family Procedure (Adoption) Rules
• Practice Directions
• Forms and Accompanying Notes

Further information on adoption for court users and professionals has been published by Her Majesty's Courts Service (HMCS).

New forms for implementation of Adoption and Children Act

BAAF produced three new Forms to enable adoption agencies in England and Wales to meet the requirements of the Adoption and Children Act. From April 2006 these Forms were added to agencies' electronic licences and charged accordingly. Details of the Forms are as follows:

• Child Permanence Report (England) or Child's Adoption Assessment Report (Wales)
  These forms are compliant with the requirements under Adoption Agencies Regulations (England) 2005 Regulation 17 and Schedule 1, Part 1 and 3, and the Adoption Agencies (Wales) Regulations 2005 WSI 2005/1313 respectively. The purpose of this Form is to enable the adoption panel and the agency decision-maker to discharge their functions under the AAR 2005, including compliance with the welfare checklist in section 1 of the Adoption and Children Act 2002. This means that the new Form will replace Form E for adoption purposes in England and Wales, but agencies can continue to use Form E to record details of a child needing a foster placement.
  
  We issued revised versions of these forms in June and July 2006, following agencies’ suggestions for amendments to and simplification of the form. View the updated reports for England (pdf 1019kb) or Wales (pdf 1016kb).
  Please note that although the PDF is one document the templates for the Forms are delivered as seven separate Word files. The reasons for this are explained in the Guidance Notes at the start of the document. There are also minor layout differences between the PDF and the Word files for formatting reasons.
  

• Form APR - Adoption Placement Report and Proforma APP - Adoption Placement Plan
  
• These two new forms meet the requirements specified in the 2005 Adoption Agencies Regulations for both England and Wales. 
  
  View the sample Adoption Placement Report (pdf 1019kb) and Adoption Placement Plan (pdf)
  
  We have been asked to add a space for a manager’s signature to both forms, and we will do this when we publish revised editions. We are still collecting suggestions for other changes to these forms - if you wish to suggest any changes to either form please e-mail pubs.sales@baaf.org.uk. In the meantime, please just add a box for the manager’s signature where it is required.

All three of these forms are published in electronic form only. We have sent all agencies which do not have a licence for BAAF Form E a letter and application form asking if they wish to obtain an electronic licence for these Forms. Download a copy of the letter and application form (pdf).

In 2007 BAAF will further publish new and revised Forms to allow agencies to comply with the new requirements of the Act.

• Forms F1, F2 and F3
  A revised version will be available from the beginning of June 2007, which will include the Prospective Adopter’s Report. All three F Forms will now be replaced by a modular format, with the content of F2 and F3 included as add-ons to the core Form. The new Form F will only be available in electronic format. A sample copy of the new Form in PDF format will be accessible from this page once it has been published.
• Forms H1/H2 (Interagency placements)
  These forms need to be amended in order to fully comply with the new Act, and we will begin work on them once we have produced the revised versions of the F Forms.

Agencies will be notified of more precise dates for these changes through BAAF News and on this website.

This notice was last updated on 30/04/2007.

Further sources of information on the bill

Summaries

Summaries on the main provisions of the Act have been produced by the following organisations:

• BAAF
• CompactLaw

DfES leaflets

The Department of Education and Skills (DfES) has produced a series of leaflets outlining the key changes introduced by the Adoption and Children Act 2002. These leaflets are aimed at service users and the general public:

• Adopting a child - transitional arrangements as the new law comes into force
• Your guide to adopting a child - new changes in the law
• Your guide to Special Guardianship - a new option for children needing permanent families
• Talking about adoption - for children under 10
• Talking about adoption - for young people over 10
• A guide for the child's parents on changes in the law
• A guide for the child's relatives on changes in the law
• Services for adopted adults who want to trace birth relatives

DfES implementation information

The Department for Education and Skills (DfES) has provided information on the implementation of the Adoption and Children Act 2002 at www.dfes.gov.uk/adoption/adoptionreforms/implementact.shtml

Welsh Assembly implementation information

The Welsh Assembly has created a web page containing links to documents released by the Assembly to help the relevant bodies implement the Adoption and Children Act 2002. The page includes information on regulations and guidance, and an archive of consultations on the Act www.wales.gov.uk/subichildren/content/adoption/adopt-children-act-2002-e.htm

Searching and making contact

A website providing information for anyone interested how the new law will affect access to adoption records, and making contact with birth or adopted relatives is available at www.adoptionsearchreunion.org.uk

BAAF's work on the Adoption & Children Bill

• Adoption by unmarried couples (pdf)
• BAAF's Standing Committee Evidence (pdf)
• BAAF Briefing for MPs (pdf)
• BAAF's evidence on the original Bill (pdf)
• Our consultation responses

Other relevant information

Adoption order applications and fees - England and Wales

The court fee is £140 per child - regardless of the court to which the application is made - including Magistrates Courts.

The adoption application can be made to ANY court - Magistrates (family proceedings court) or County (the County Court must be an adoption centre) - anywhere in England and Wales. The application does not need to be made to the court which previously granted a care order, freeing order or placement order, although details of any relevant previous orders will need to be included in the application.