Children (Scotland) Act 1995

Miscellaneous and GeneralU.K.

31 Review of case of child looked after by local authority.S

(1)Without prejudice to their duty under section 17(1)(a) of this Act, it shall be the duty of a local authority who are looking after a child to review his case at such intervals as may be prescribed by the Secretary of State.

(2)The Secretary of State may prescribe—

(a)different intervals in respect of the first such review and in respect of subsequent reviews;

(b)the manner in which cases are to be reviewed under this section;

(c)the considerations to which the local authority are to have regard in reviewing cases under this section.

32 Removal of child from residential establishment.S

A local authority, notwithstanding any agreement made in connection with the placing of a child in a residential establishment under this Chapter, or Chapter 4, of this Part of this Act by them—

(a)may, at any time; and

(b)shall, if requested to do so by the person responsible for the establishment,

remove a child so placed.

33 Effect of orders etc. made in different parts of the United Kingdom.U.K.

(1)The Secretary of State may make regulations providing for a prescribed order which is made by a court in England and Wales or in Northern Ireland, if that order appears to him to correspond generally to an order of a kind which may be made under this Part of this Act F1F2..., to have effect in prescribed circumstances and for prescribed purposes of the law of Scotland as if it were an order of that kind F3F2....

(2)The Secretary of State may make regulations providing—

(a)for a prescribed order made under this Part of this Act by a court in Scotland; F4...

F5F6(b). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

if that order F7F8... appears to him to correspond generally to an order of a kind which may be made under any provision of law in force in England and Wales or in Northern Ireland, to have effect in prescribed circumstances and for prescribed purposes of the law of England and Wales, or as the case may be of Northern Ireland, as if it were an order of that kind.

(3)Regulations under subsection (1) or (2)(a) above may provide for the order given effect for prescribed purposes to cease to have effect for those purposes, or for the purposes of the law of the place where the order was made, if prescribed conditions are satisfied.

F9F10(4). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(5)Regulations under this section may modify any provision of—

(a)the M1Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968 or this Act in any application which the Acts may respectively have, by virtue of the regulations, in relation to an order made otherwise than in Scotland;

(b)the M2Children Act 1989 or the M3Children and Young Persons Act 1969 [F11or sections 63 to 67 of and Schedules 6 and 7 to the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000] in any application which those Acts may respectively have, by virtue of the regulations, in relation to an order prescribed under subsection (2)(a) above F12F13...; or

(c)the M4Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1995 or the M5Children and Young Persons Act (Northern Ireland) 1968 in any application which they may respectively have, by virtue of the regulations, in relation to an order so prescribed F14F13....

F1534. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .S

35 Welfare of children in accommodation provided for purposes of school attendance.S

After section 125 of the M6Education (Scotland) Act 1980 there shall be inserted—

“ Children and young persons in accommodationS

125A Welfare of children and young persons in accommodation provided for purposes of school attendance.

Where, for the purposes of his being in attendance at a school, a child or young person is provided with residential accommodation, in a place in or outwith that school, by—

(a)an education authority, the board of management of a self-governing school or the managers of a grant-aided or independent school; or

(b)by any other person in pursuance of arrangements made by any such authority, board of management or managers,

the authority, board of management or managers in question shall have the duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of the child or young person while he is so accommodated; and the powers of inspection exercisable by virtue of section 66(1) of this Act shall include the power to inspect the place to determine whether his welfare is adequately safeguarded and promoted there.”.

36 Welfare of certain children in hospitals and nursing homes etc.S

(1)Where a child is provided with residential accommodation by a person mentioned in subsection (3) below and it appears to the person that the child either—

(a)has had no parental contact for a continuous period of three months or more; or

(b)is likely to have no parental contact for a period which, taken with any immediately preceding period in which the child has had no such contact, will constitute a continuous period of three months or more,

the person shall (whether or not the child has been, or will be, so accommodated throughout the continuous period) so notify the local authority in whose area the accommodation is provided.

(2)A local authority receiving notification under subsection (1) above shall—

(a)take such steps as are reasonably practicable to enable them to determine whether the child’s welfare is adequately safeguarded and promoted while he is so accommodated; and

(b)consider the extent to which (if at all) they should exercise any of their functions under this Act with respect to the child.

(3)The persons are—

(a)any health board constituted under section 2 of the M7National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978;

(b)any national health service trust established under section 12A of that Act;

[F16(c)any person providing—

(i)an independent hospital;

(ii)a private psychiatric hospital;

(iii)an independent clinic; or

(iv)an independent medical agency,

within the meaning given to those expressions by section 10F(2) of the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978 (c.29); and]

(d)any person providing a care home service (as defined by [F17paragraph 2 of schedule 12 to the Public Services Reform (Scotland) Act 2010] (asp 8)).

(4)For the purposes of subsection (1) above, a child has parental contact only when in the presence of a person having parental responsibilities in relation to him.

(5)A person duly authorised by a local authority may in the area of that authority, at all reasonable times, enter for the purposes of subsection (2) above or of determining whether there has been compliance with subsection (1) above any such place as is mentioned in sub-paragraph (i) or (ii) of subsection (3)(c) above and may for those purposes inspect any records or registers relating to that place; and subsections (2A) to (2D) and (4) of section 6 of the M8Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968 (exercise of powers of entry and inspection) [F18(as in force immediately prior to their repeal by section 8 of the Joint Inspection of Children's Services and Inspection of Social Work Services (Scotland) Act 2006)] shall apply in respect of a person so authorised as they [F19applied] in respect of a person duly authorised under subsection (1) of that section.

F2037. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .S

38 Short-term refuges for children at risk of harm.S

(1)Where a child appears—

(a)to a local authority to be at risk of harm, they may at the child’s request—

(i)provide him with refuge in a residential establishment both controlled or managed by them and designated by them for the purposes of this paragraph; or

(ii)arrange for a person whose household is approved by virtue of section 5(3)(b) of the M9Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968 (provision for securing that persons are not placed in any household unless the household has prescribed approval) and is designated by them for the purposes of this paragraph, to provide him with refuge in that household,

for a period which does not exceed the relevant period;

(b)to a person who [F21provides a care home service (as defined by [F22paragraph 2 of schedule 12 to the Public Services Reform (Scotland) Act 2010] (asp 8))], or to any person for the time being employed in the management of [F23the accomodation in question], to be at risk of harm, the person to whom the child so appears may at the child’s request provide him with refuge, for a period which does not exceed the relevant period, in the [F24accommodation] but shall do so only if and to the extent that the local authority within whose area the [F24accommodation] is situated have given their approval to the use of the [F24accommodation] (or a part of the [F24accommodation]) for the purposes of this paragraph.

(2)The Secretary of State may by regulations make provision as to—

(a)designation, for the purposes of paragraph (a) of subsection (1) above, of establishments and households;

(b)application for, the giving of and the withdrawal of, approval under paragraph (b) of subsection (1) above;

(c)requirements (if any) which must be complied with while any such approval remains in force;

(d)the performance by a person mentioned in the said paragraph (b) of anything to be done by him under that paragraph;

(e)the performance by a local authority of their functions under this section; and

(f)the giving, to such persons or classes of person as may be specified in the regulations, of notice as to the whereabouts of a child provided with refuge under this section,

and regulations made under this subsection may include such incidental and supplementary provisions as he thinks fit.

(3)While a child is being provided with refuge under, and in accordance with regulations made under, this section, none of the enactments mentioned in subsection (4) below shall apply in relation to him unless the commencement of the period of refuge has followed within two days of the termination of a prior period of refuge so provided to him by any person.

(4)The enactments are—

(a)section 89 of this Act and, so far as it applies in relation to anything done in Scotland, [F25section 171 of the Children's Hearings (Scotland) Act 2011]; and

(b)section 32(3) of the M10Children and Young Persons Act 1969 (compelling, persuading, inciting or assisting any person to be absent from detention etc.), so far as it applies in relation to anything done in Scotland.

(5)References in this section to the relevant period shall be construed as references either to a period which does not exceed seven days or, in such exceptional circumstances as the Secretary of State may prescribe, to a period which does not exceed fourteen days.

(6)A child who is provided with refuge for a period by virtue of such arrangements as are mentioned in subsection (1)(a) above shall not be regarded as a foster child for the purposes of the M11Foster Children (Scotland) Act 1984 by reason only of such provision.