in relation to England, a voluntary organisation which is an adoption society registered under Part 2 of the Care Standards Act 2000 (c. 14), or

in relation to Wales, a voluntary organisation which is an adoption society registered as a provider in Wales of an adoption service under Part 1 of the Regulation and Inspection of Social Care (Wales) Act 2016 (anaw 2),

counselling, advice and information, and

any other services prescribed by regulations,

children who may be adopted, their parents and guardians,

persons wishing to adopt a child, and

adopted persons, their parents, natural parents and former guardians;

for the adoption of children, and

for the provision of adoption support services.

must extend to the provision of adoption support services to persons who are within a description prescribed by regulations,

may extend to the provision of those services to other persons.

registered adoption societies, or

other persons who are within a description prescribed by regulations of persons who may provide the facilities in question.

one of those authorities, or

one or more other adoption agencies.

specify who is to carry out the functions, or

require the local authority or authorities to determine who is to carry out the functions.

the recruitment of persons as prospective adopters;

the assessment of prospective adopters' suitability to adopt a child;

the approval of prospective adopters as suitable to adopt a child;

decisions as to whether a particular child should be placed for adoption with a particular prospective adopter;

the provision of adoption support services.

as to the establishment and maintenance of a pooled fund;

as to the provision of staff, goods, services, accommodation or other resources;

for determining the amount of payment or other contribution to be made towards relevant expenditure by the authorities which are parties to the arrangements;

for working in conjunction with registered adoption societies;

as to the responsibility for, and the operation and management of, the arrangements;

for resolving complaints about services provided in accordance with the specified arrangements;

as to the determination of disputes between the authorities which are parties to the arrangements.

report to the National Assembly for Wales that the power has been exercised, and

lay a copy of the direction before the National Assembly for Wales.

any of the persons mentioned in paragraphs (a) to (c) of section 3(1), or

any other person who falls within a description prescribed by regulations (subject to subsection (7)(a)),

a local authority decide to provide any adoption support services to a person, and

the circumstances fall within a description prescribed by regulations,

as to the circumstances in which a person mentioned in paragraph (b) of subsection (1) is to have a right to request an assessment of his needs in accordance with that subsection,

about the type of assessment which, or the way in which an assessment, is to be carried out,

about the way in which a plan is to be prepared,

about the way in which, and time at which, a plan or the provision of adoption support services is to be reviewed,

about the considerations to which a local authority are to have regard in carrying out an assessment or review or preparing a plan,

as to the circumstances in which a local authority may provide adoption support services subject to conditions,

as to the consequences of conditions imposed by virtue of paragraph (f) not being met (including the recovery of any financial support provided by a local authority),

as to the circumstances in which this section may apply to a local authority in respect of persons who are outside that local authority’s area,

as to the circumstances in which a local authority may recover from another local authority the expenses of providing adoption support services to any person.

there may be a need for the provision to that person of services that may be provided pursuant to arrangements made by an integrated care board under the National Health Service Act 2006 (including such arrangements made by an integrated care board in the exercise of functions of another person by virtue of any provision of that Act),

there may be a need for the provision of services to that person by F16... (in Wales, a Health Authority or Local Health Board), or

there may be a need for the provision to him of any services which fall within the F12education functions (as defined in section 579(1) of the Education Act 1996) of another local authority (as defined in section 579(1) of that Act),

any person who has contacted the authority to request information about adopting a child,

any person who has informed the authority that he or she wishes to adopt a child,

any person within the authority's area who the authority are aware is a parent of an adopted child, and

any person within the authority's area who is a parent of an adopted child and has contacted the authority to request any of the information specified in subsection (2).

information about the adoption support services available to people in the authority's area;

information about the right to request an assessment under section 4 (assessments etc for adoption support services), and the authority's duties under that section and regulations made under it;

information about the authority's duties under section 4A (adoption support services: personal budgets) and regulations made under it;

any other information prescribed by regulations.

a body which is or has been a registered adoption society is inactive or defunct, or

a body which has ceased to be a registered adoption society by virtue of the cancellation of its registration under Part 2 of the Care Standards Act 2000 F32or Part 1 of the Regulation and Inspection of Social Care (Wales) Act 2016 has not made such arrangements for the transfer of its functions relating to children as are specified in a direction given by him.

apart from this subsection the authority would not be entitled to take, or would not be entitled to take without joining the society in the action, but

they are directed to take under subsection (2).

merely because it provides information in connection with adoption other than for the purpose mentioned in section 98(1), or

if it is excepted by virtue of subsection (2).

a registered adoption society, whether or not the society is registered in respect of the provision of adoption support services,

a local authority,

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

F37NHS England,

a Special Health Authority F19... F38, integrated care board (in Wales, a Health Authority or Local Health Board) F1, NHS trust or NHS foundation trust,

the Registrar General,

any person, or description of persons, excepted by regulations.

after subsection (7) there is inserted—

in subsection (9)(a) (construction of references to descriptions of agencies), for “or a voluntary adoption agency” there is substituted “ a voluntary adoption agency or an adoption support agency ”.

the exercise by local authorities or voluntary adoption agencies of their functions in relation to adoption, or

the exercise by adoption support agencies of their functions in relation to adoption.

the persons who are fit to work for them for the purposes of the functions mentioned in section 9(1),

the fitness of premises,

the management and control of their operations,

the number of persons, or persons of any particular type, working for the purposes of those functions,

the management and training of persons working for the purposes of those functions,

the keeping of information.

the register of social workers in England maintained under section 39 of the Children and Social Work Act 2017,

any register of social care workers in England maintained under an Order in Council under section 60 of the Health Act 1999 or any register maintained under such an Order in Council so far as relating to social care workers in England, or

the register maintained underF26section 80 of the Regulation and Inspection of Social Care (Wales) Act 2016 (anaw 2) (registration of social care workers).

make provision as to the persons who are fit to manage an agency, including provision prohibiting persons from doing so unless they are registered in, or in a particular part of, one of the registers referred to in subsection (2),

impose requirements as to the financial position of an agency,

make provision requiring the appointment of a manager,

in the case of a voluntary adoption agency, make provision for securing the welfare of children placed by the agency, including provision as to the promotion and protection of their health,

in the case of an adoption support agency, make provision as to the persons who are fit to carry on the agency.

as to the facilities and services to be provided by an agency,

as to the keeping of accounts,

as to the notification to the registration authority of events occurring in premises used for the purposes of an agency,

as to the giving of notice to the registration authority of periods during which the manager of an agency proposes to be absent, and specifying the information to be given in such a notice,

as to the making of adequate arrangements for the running of an agency during a period when its manager is absent,

as to the giving of notice to the registration authority of any intended change in the identity of the manager,

as to the giving of notice to the registration authority of changes in the ownership of an agency or the identity of its officers,

requiring the payment of a prescribed fee to the registration authority in respect of any notification required to be made by virtue of paragraph (g),

requiring arrangements to be made for dealing with complaints made by or on behalf of those seeking, or receiving, any of the services provided by an agency and requiring the agency or manager to take steps for publicising the arrangements.

the fees which may be charged by adoption agencies in respect of the provision of services to persons providing facilities as part of the Adoption Service (including the Adoption Services in Scotland and Northern Ireland),

the fees which may be paid by adoption agencies to persons providing or assisting in providing such facilities.

the adoption of a child brought into the United Kingdom for the purpose of adoption, or

a Convention adoption, an overseas adoption or an adoption effected under the law of a country or territory outside the British Islands.

the duties and powers of a panel F7...,

the administration and procedures of a panel,

the appointment of members of a panel (including the number, or any limit on the number, of members who may be appointed and any conditions for appointment),

the payment of F3fees to members of a panel,

the duties of adoption agencies in connection with reviews conducted under the regulations,

the monitoring of any such reviews.

its performance of all or any of its functions relating to adoption,

the children and other persons in relation to whom it has exercised those functions.

the relevant officer of the family court, and

the relevant officer of the High Court,

a child is living with a person with whom the child has been placed by an adoption agency, or

a child in respect of whom a notice of intention to adopt has been given under section 44 is, or will be, living,

to give him any information, or

to allow him to inspect any records (in whatever form they are held),

visit the child there,

make any examination into the state of the premises and the treatment of the child there which he thinks fit.

enter the premises for that purpose at any reasonable time,

require any person to give him any reasonable assistance he may require.