HC Deb 28 October 1975 vol 898 cc1518-20

Amendments made: No. 186, in page 43, line 30, leave out from beginning to end of line 24 on page 44 and insert: '16.—(1) Subject to the provisions of this Part of this Act, a local authority may resolve—

  1. (a) that there shall vest in them the relevant parental rights and powers with respect to any child who is in their care under section 15 of this Act; or
  2. (b) that there shall vest in a voluntary organisation which is an incorporated body, or a trust within the meaning of section 2(a) of the Trusts (Scotland) Act 1921, the relevant parental rights and powers with respect to any child who is in the care of that organisation,
if it appears to the local authority—
  1. (i) that the parents of the child are dead and that he has no guardian; or
  2. (ii) that there exists in respect of a parent or guardian of the child (the said parent or guardian being hereafter in this Part of this Act referred to as the person on whose account the resolution was passed) and of the circumstances specified in subsection (1A) of this section; or
  3. (iii) that a resolution under this subsection is in force in terms of sub-paragraph (ii) above in relation to one parent of the child and that parent is, or is likely to become a member of the household comprising the child and his other parent; or
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  4. (iv) that throughout the three years preceding the passing of the resolution the child has been in the care of a local authority under section 15 of this Act, or in the care of a voluntary organisation or partly the one and partly the other.
(1A) The circumstances referred to in sub-paragraph (ii) of subsection (1) of this section are that the person on whose account the resolution was passed—
  1. (a)has abandoned the child; or
  2. (b) suffers from some permanent disability rendering him incapable of caring for the child; or
  3. (c) while not falling within paragraph (b) of this subsection, suffers from a mental disorder (within the meaning of the Mental Health (Scotland) Act 1960) which renders him unfit to have the care of the child; or
  4. (d) is of such habits or mode of life as to be unfit to have the care of the child; or
  5. (e) has so persistently failed without reasonable cause to discharge the obligations of a parent or guardian as to be unfit to have the care of the child.'

No. 187, in page 44, line 29, after '14, insert' or 25'.

No. 188, in line 32, leave out 'under paragraph (a)' and insert 'by virtue of circumstances specified in sub-paragraph (i)'.

No. 189, in line 36, leave out 'under paragraph (b)' and insert 'by virtue of circumstances specified in sub-paragraph (ii)'

No. 190, in line 40, leave out 'under paragraph (c)' and insert 'by virtue of circumstances specified in sub-paragraph (iii)'.

No. 191, in line 44, leave out 'under paragraph (d)' and insert 'by virtue of circumstances specified in sub-paragraph (iv)'.

No. 192, in line 46, at end insert— '(2A) A local authority shall not pass a resolution under paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of this section unless—

  1. (a) it is satisfied that the child is not in the care of any local authority under any enactment; and
  2. (b) it is satisfied that it is necessary in the interests of the welfare of the child for the parental rights and powers to be vested in the voluntary organisation; and
  3. (c) the child is living in the area of the local authority either in a residential establishment or with foster parents with whom he has been boarded out by the voluntary organisation in whose care he is; and
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  4. (d) that organisation has requested the local authority to pass the resolution.'.

No. 193, in page 45, line 1, leave out 'paragraph (b), (c) or (d) of'.

No. 194, in line 2, at end insert by virtue of circumstances specified in sub-paragraph (ii), (iii) or (iv) thereof'

No. 195, in line 5, after 'authority', insert or in the voluntary organisation, as the case may be,'.

No. 196, in line 45, leave out ' (b), (c) or (d)'.

No. 197, in line 46, after 'section', insert 'by virtue of circumstances specified in sub-paragraph (ii), (iii), or (iv) thereof'.

No. 198, in page 46, line 16, at end insert 'or'.

No. 199, in line 22, leave out 'or the child' and insert 'or the child; or (d) it is a resolution under paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of this section and a resolution is passed under subsection (1) of section 16A of this Act in respect of the child.'.

No. 200, in page 46 leave out lines 23 to 29 and insert— '(10) If the whereabouts of any parent or guardian of a child have remained unknown for twelve months, and throughout that period the child has been in the care of a local authority under section 15 of this Act, or in the care of a voluntary organisation, or partly the one and partly the other, then for the purposes of this section that parent or guardian shall be deemed to have abandoned the child'.

No. 201, in line 32, leave out 'paragraph (d)' and insert 'sub-paragraph (iv)'.

No. 202, in line 34, leave out 'paragraph' and insert 'sub-paragraph'.—[Mr. McElhone.]

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