Read up on acts of parliament, secondary legislation, and case law affecting fostering & adoption in England.
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On this page:
> Primary Legislation / Acts of Parliament
> Secondary Legislation / Statutory Instruments
> Case Law
> Other sources of legal information
Acts of Parliament
Listed in this section (in date order, most recent first) are the main Acts and Orders affecting adoption and the public care of children in England.
The Draft Children (Contact) and Adoption Bill
Applies to England and Wales
The draft Children (Contact) and Adoption Bill (Cm6462) was published by the DFES on 2 February 2005.
AJoint Committee of MPs and Peers Committee published a report on the bill (including recommendations relating to a government agency for intercountry adoption) on 12 April 2005 and the Government response to the report was published on 8 June 2005.
The Bill had it's second reading in parliament on the 29th June.
Prior to the second reading, BAAF and five other children's organisations wrote to Lord Adonis, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Schools, expressing concerns about concerns about provisions in this Bill which introduce a fee for processing intercountry applications at the DfES.
Read the letter | Read Lord Adonis' response
Children Act 2004 (England and Wales)
Applies to England and Wales
See more information and BAAF briefings.
Health and Social Care Bill (Community Health and Standards) Act 2003
Applies to the UK
The full text of the act is available at:
www.legislation.hmso.gov.uk
Adoption and Children Act 2002
Applies to England and Wales, although some sections apply to Scotland and Northern Ireland
The Adoption and Children Act 2002 received Royal Assent in November 2002 and 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.
The act is not yet fully in force - some parts won't be implemented until December 2005.
See more about the Act and implementation timetables >>
Care Standards Act 2000
Applies to England and Wales
This Act establishes regulatory bodies for social care in England and Wales, and provisions for registration and standards in social care work and training.
www.legislation.hmso.gov.uk
Children (Leaving Care) Act 2000
Applies to England and Wales
This Act amends the Children Act 1989 and places duties on local authorities to assess and meet the needs of young people leaving care.
www.hmso.gov.uk
Adoption (Intercountry Aspects) Act 1999
Applies to England, Scotland and Wales
This Act amended the Adoption Act 1976 and the Adoption (Scotland) Act 1978 in respect of intercountry adoption and enabled the UK to ratify the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in respect of Intercountry Adoption.
www.hmso.gov.uk
Protection of Children Act 1999
Applies to the UK
This Act created a system for identifying people unsuitable to working with children and introduced the checking of criminal records of people who want to work with children or young people.
www.hmso.gov.uk
Family Law Act 1996
Applies to England and Wales
This Act emphasised the need to consider the welfare of children in cases of divorce and separation.
www.hmso.gov.uk
The Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption 1993
Applies to the UK
Provides a framework for the process of intercountry adoption, and sets out minimum standards and requirements for countries of origin.
www.hcch.net
Children Act 1989
Applies toEngland and Wales; some sections affect Northern Ireland and Scotland
This Act introduces major reforms to legislation for children, including introducing the concept of parental responsibility and giving powers to local authorities to provide service for children in need.
- A summary of the main provisions can be read at www.childpolicy.org.uk
- A Department of Health publication from 2001 provides a summary of 24 studies evaluating the implementation of the Children Act 1989, The Children Act Now: Messages from Research, can be found at www.dh.gov.uk
- The Children Act Report 2002 presents the latest information about the work councils do to safeguard children and promote their welfare, and is available at www.dfes.gov.uk
- The full Act is available online at www.hmso.gov.uk
Adoption Act 1976
Applies to England and Wales
This Act established the arrangements necessary for adoption, and the care and protection of children waiting to be adopted.
A summary of the main provisions can be found at www.childpolicy.org.uk and the Act can be purchased from the Stationery Office at www.tso.co.uk
European Convention on the Adoption of Children 1967
Applies to the UK
Contains a list of provisions on adoption practice that must be incorporated into legislation by member states. It was ratified by the UK in 1968.
http://conventions.coe.int
Secondary Legislation/Statutory Instruments
Secondary legislation allows the provisions in an Act of Parliament to be implemented and changed as required.
The different types of secondary legislation and the Parliamentary procedure for making statutory instruments are explained in the House of Commons Information Office Factsheet available at:
www.parliament.uk
Our fortnightly E-bulletin explains new statutory instruments as they happen. Access archives and subscribe to the bulletin (this service is for BAAF members only - join BAAF).
UK Statutory Instruments
www.hmso.gov.uk/stat.htm
Case Law / Court Rulings
Court Service in England and Wales - Judgments Database
www.courtservice.gov.uk
British and Irish Legal Information Institute
Access to Freely Available British and Irish Public Legal Information
www.bailii.org
European Court of Human Rights - Judgements and Decisions
www.echr.coe.int
Key cases are reported on in the Legal Notes section of our journal Adoption & Fostering
Other sources of information
Online sources of legislation
UK
Full text of all Public and Local Acts of the UK Parliament, the Explanatory Notes to Public Acts, Statutory Instruments and Draft Statutory Instruments; and Measures of the General Synod of the Church of England.
www.legislation.hmso.gov.uk
Legislation in Progress
The 4 National Child Policy Network offers summaries and updates on legislation passing through UK Parliaments and Assemblies.
www.childpolicy.org.uk
The progress of Bills passing through the UK parliament can be followed on the Bill index database. Also provides links to the full text of the Bill, the Hansard debate and any proposed amendments.
http://bills.ais.co.uk/AC.asp
Legislative Process
The House of Commons Information Office has published a series of factsheets explaining the legislative process in the UK.
Factsheet L1: Parliamentary Stages of a Government Bill
www.parliament.uk
Official Reports of Proceedings
UK Parliament - House of Commons and the House of Lords
www.parliament.uk
Law Reform Organisations
Government bodies appointed to recommend reforms to improve, simplify and update the law.
England and Wales
Law Commission www.lawcom.gov.uk
Other Organsations
Association of Lawyers for Children
An organisation which promotes justice for children and young people within the legal system in England and Wales
www.alc.org.uk
CAFCASS
Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service
www.cafcass.gov.uk
The Professional Association for Children's Guardians and Children and Family Reporters
www.nagalro.com
Information and Advice
Sources of Information and Advice on Law Relating to Children, Young People and Families
Department for Education and Skills Adoption Site
A good source of information on legislation relating to the welfare of children is the DfES site on adoption
http://www.dfes.gov.uk
LAWLINKS
Legal Information on the Internet A well organised catalogue of legal sites compiled by Sarah Carter, Law Librarian at the University of Kent.
http://library.kent.ac.uk
The AIRE Centre
An organisation providing information and advice on human rights, throughout Europe
www.airecentre.org
Carelaw
An information site for children and young people in care in England & Wales
www.carelaw.co.uk
The Children's Legal Centre
Operates a free and confidential legal advice and information service covering all aspects of law and policy affecting children and young people.
www.childrenslegalcentre.com
CompactLaw
Concise and independent legal information for consumers and business customers
www.compactlaw.co.uk/adopt.html
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