Over the course of the last decade, there has been a promulgation of claims for judicial review of decisions taken under Part III, Children Act 1989 (entitled ‘Local Authority Support for Children and Families’). This legislative framework has considerable relevance both as an area of law in its own right, but also increasingly, to practitioners in the field of child law.
The Children Act 1989: Local Authority Support for Children and Families is dedicated to providing a detailed examination of this legislation. It helps you understand this rapidly-growing area, and includes chapters on Section 20 accommodation, age assessments of unaccompanied asylum-seekers, duties owed to children in need, secure accommodation and local authority responsibilities under the Children (Leaving Care) Act 2000. The book also covers all the recent key decisions of the Administrative Court in the interpretation of Part III, and the amendments to the legislation following the Children and Young Persons Act 2008 and the Care Planning, Placement and Case Review Regulations 2010.
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Book Extract from The Children Act 1989: Local Authority Support for Children and Families
Introduction
Part III of the Children Act 1989 sets out the duties owed by local authorities to children and families in their area. It deals with services that must, or may, be provided by every children’s services authority. The provisions in Part III are often referred to as the voluntary provisions. They reflect the principles of minimal state intervention and of supporting children within their family of origin that were intended to be the cornerstones of the Children Act.
Services provided pursuant to s 17 are available to children who are ‘in need’ in accordance with the definition found in that section to the extent that they and/or their families wish to access such services. Accommodation provided pursuant to s 20 generally requires the consent of those who have parental responsibility for the child. Many of the other functions in Part III arise as a result of a child being a looked after child and one of the routes to a child being looked after is that the child is accommodated pursuant to s 20. These include the duties owed to looked after children pursuant to s 22 and ss 22A to 22F of the Children Act 1989, the so-called ‘leaving care’ provisions – duties owed to children who are no longer looked after, or in preparation for the child ceasing to be a looked after child, and the provision of secure accommodation to looked after children who meet the criteria in s 25(1).
Prior to the implementation of the Children Act 1989, the range of services provided for under Part III of that Act were found in different pieces of legislation. This included provision within the Child Care Act 1980 for children to be supported within their family of origin where appropriate. Section 1 of that statute, for example, required local authorities to provide assistance to promote the welfare of children by diminishing the need for them to be taken into care or brought before the juvenile courts. Section 2 imposed a duty on local authorities to receive a child into voluntary care in certain circumstances. Different welfare legislation, however, made provision for services to disabled people of all ages, including children. This included the National Health Service Act 1977, the Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act 1970, and the National Assistance Act 1948.
The aim of the Children Act was to unify and consolidate the different legislative provisions relating to children. The objective was to ensure that all children should receive the standard of care and services appropriate to their needs. The new statute was to provide an overarching power to local authorities to promote the care and welfare of children within their area. The white paper which preceded the new legislation (The Law on Child Care and Family Services, Cm 62 (1987)) set out that, broadly speaking, all existing powers and duties to provide services to children were to be maintained and amalgamated in the new statute.
Since the implementation of the Children Act 1989, further legislation has added to and enhanced the range of services to be provided by local authority children’s services departments under Part III. The Children (Leaving Care) Act 2000 inserts new provisions into the 1989 Act designed to improve the life chances of young adults who have been looked after. The Children Act 2004 establishes children’s services departments and imposes new duties on all agencies working with children to cooperate and share information. In 2011, further amendments to Part III were brought into force by the Children and Young Persons Act 2008. This was accompanied by a fresh panoply of guidance and secondary legislation which aims to streamline and clarify the provision of services by local authorities under this Part.
In recent years, the higher courts have been repeatedly called upon to determine the parameters of the duties owed by local authorities under Part III. The aim of this book is to bring together the legislation, statutory guidance, and case law relating to these duties and services and to provide some analysis of what is a fascinating and rapidly growing area of the law relating to children and young people.
"A one line review would simply say that this is a useful and clearly written book.
To begin to put the flesh on the bones, this book deals with the slightly awkward questions which don’t necessarily come up week in, week out, certainly for the majority of us, such as quite what duties a local authority has to a child who has at some point been in care (using the term loosely). The end of that particular chapter has an excellent set of flowcharts and tables to help you work out the support to which the child in question is (or is not) entitled.
It’s very useful to have the relevant statutes, statutory instruments and case-law drawn together in one book and analysed carefully. The book helpfully highlights the areas where the law remains unclear and analyses the competing arguments in those situations ... it is a useful addition to the family practitioner’s library."
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Julia Belyavin - Barrister St John's Chambers
