Citation and commencement

1.  These Regulations may be cited as the Definition of IndependentVisitors (Children) Regulations 1991 and shall come into force on 14thOctober 1991.

Independent visitors

2.  A person appointed by a local authority as an independent visitorunder paragraph 17(1) of Schedule 2 to the Children Act 1989 shall beregarded as independent of the local authority appointing him in thefollowing circumstances:

(a)where the person appointed is not connected with the local authorityby virtue of being—

(i)a member of the local authority or any of their committees or sub-committees, whether elected or co-opted; or

(ii)an officer of the local authority employed in the Social ServicesDepartment of that authority; or

(iii)a spouse of any such person;

(b)where the child who is to receive visits from the person appointedis accommodated by an organisation other than the local authority, andthe person appointed is not—

(i)a member of that organisation; or

(ii)a patron or trustee of that organisation; or

(iii)an employee of that organisation, whether paid or not; or

(iv)a spouse of any such person.

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations prescribe the circumstances in which a personappointed as an independent visitor is to be regarded as independent ofthe local authority appointing him.

Regulation 2(a) provides that certain local authority members,employees and their spouses, are not to be regarded as independent.Regulation 2(b) provides that where the child is accommodated by someorganisation other than a local authority, certain persons connectedwith that organisation shall not be regarded as independent.