HC Deb 20 May 2002 vol 386 cc81-6

Amendments made: No. 295, in page 82, leave out lines 15 to 43 and insert— '2 In subsection (1) for "person or persons specified in subsection (1A) of this section" there is substituted "appropriate persons". 3 For subsection (1A) there is substituted— (1A) The appropriate persons are—

  1. (a) if none of paragraphs (b) to (h) apply, each of the following—
  2. (i) any parent of the child who has parental responsibility for him; and
  3. (ii) any guardian of the child;
  4. (b) where a special guardianship order is in force with respect to a child, each of the child's special guardians, unless any of paragraphs (c) to (g) applies;
  5. (c) where a care order has effect with respect to the child, the local authority designated in the order, and each parent, guardian or special guardian (insofar as their parental responsibility has not been restricted under section 33(3) of the Children Act 1989), unless paragraph (e) applies;
  6. (d) where a residence order has effect with respect to the child, the persons with whom the child lives, or is to live, as a result of the order, unless paragraph (e) applies;
  7. (e) where an adoption agency is authorised to place the child for adoption under section 18 of the Adoption and Children Act 2002, that agency or, where a care order has effect with respect to the child, the local authority designated in the order;
  8. (f) where a placement order is in force with respect to the child, the appropriate local authority;
  9. (g) where a child has been placed for adoption with prospective adopters, the prospective adopters (insofar as their parental responsibility has not been restricted under section 24(4) of the Adoption and Children Act 2002), in addition to those persons specified in paragraph (e) or (f);
  10. (h) where none of paragraphs (b) to (g) apply but a residence order was in force with respect to the child immediately before he reached the age of sixteen, the persons with whom he lived, or was to live, as a result of the order.".'.

No. 296, in page 83, line 6, leave out "by an adoption agency".

No. 297, in page 83, line 11, leave out from "adoption" to end of line 12.

No. 35, in page 84, line 8, leave out "or" and insert—

'sections 1 or 2(4) of the Adoption (Intercountry Aspects) Act 1999 or'.

No. 36, in page 84, line 14, at end insert— '( ) in the entry relating to the Adoption (Intercountry Aspects) Act 1999—

  1. (i) in the first column, for "Section" there is substituted "Sections 1 and",
  2. (ii) in the second column, for "Article 9(a) to (c) of there is substituted "regulations made under section 1 giving effect to" and at the end there is inserted "and functions under Article 9(a) to (c) of the Convention"'.

No. 313, in page 85, line 12, at end insert— '20A In section I I (restriction on arranging adoptions and placing of children)— (a) in subsection (2)—

  1. (i) for paragraph (a) there is substituted—
(a) a registered adoption society (within the meaning of section 2(2) of the Adoption and Children Act 2002)"; and
  1. (ii) for "section 1" there is substituted "section 3(1)", and
 (b) after subsection (2) there is inserted— (2A) In relation to the provision of any particular service by an adoption society, the reference in subsection (2)(a) to a registered adoption society does not include a voluntary organisation unless it is registered under Part 2 of the Care Standards Act 2000 in respect of that service or a service which, in England, corresponds to that service. 20B In section 16 (parental agreement to adoption order)— (a) in subsection (1)—
  1. (i) in paragraph (a), sub-paragraph (ii) is omitted, and
  2. (ii) after paragraph (a) there is inserted—
 (aa) each parent or guardian of the child has consented under section 19 of the Adoption and Children Act 2002 (advance consent to adoption), has not withdrawn the consent and does not oppose the making of the adoption order; (ab) subsection (3A) applies and no parent or guardian of the child opposes the making of the adoption order", and (b) after subsection (3) there is inserted— (3A) This subsection applies where—
  1. (a) the child has been placed for adoption by an adoption agency (within the meaning of section 2(1) of the Adoption and Children Act 2002) with the prospective adopters in whose favour the adoption order is proposed to be made: and
  2. (b) the child was placed for adoption—
    1. (i) under section 18 of that Act (placing children with parental consent) with the consent of each parent or guardian and the consent of the mother was given when the child was at least six weeks old; or
    2. (ii) under an order made under section 20 of that Act (placement orders) and the child was at least six weeks old when that order was made.
 (3B) A parent or guardian may not oppose the making of an adoption order under subsection (1)(aa) or (ab) without the leave of the court. (3C) The court shall not give leave under subsection (3B) unless satisfied that there has been a change of circumstances since the consent of the parent or guardian was given or, as the case may be, the order under section 20 of that Act was made. (3D) The withdrawal of— (a) any consent to the placement of a child for adoption—
  1. (i) under section 18; or
  2. (ii) under an order made under section 20,
of the Adoption and Children Act 2002; or (b) any consent given under section 19 of that Act, is ineffective if it is given after an application for an adoption order is made.".'

No. 274, in page 85, line 28, leave out "83" and insert "86(2)".

No. 314, in page 85, line 32, at end insert— '24A Section 52 (restriction on advertisements) is omitted. 24B In section 53 (effect of determination and orders made England and Wales and overseas in adoption proceedings), in subsection (2), the words "England and Wales or" are omitted. 24C After section 53 there is inserted— 53A Effect of certain orders made in England and Wales (1) An adoption order (within the meaning of section 44(1) of the Adoption and Children Act 2002) has effect in Scotland as it has in England and Wales but as if any reference to the parental responsibility for the child were to the parental responsibilities and parental rights in relation to the child. (2) An order made under section 20 of that Act (placement orders), and the variation or revocation of such an order under section 22 or 23 of that Act, have effect in Scotland as they have in England and Wales but as if any reference to the parental responsibility for the child were to the parental responsibilities and parental rights in relation to the child. 53B Effect of placing for adoption etc. under Adoption and Children Act 2002 (1) If—

  1. (a) a child is placed for adoption under section 18 of the Adoption and Children Act 2002 (placing children with parental consent); or
  2. (b) an adoption agency is authorised to place a child for adoption under that section,
sections 24 (parental responsibility) and 27(2) to (4) (further consequences of placement) of that Act have effect in Scotland as they have in England and Wales but with the modifications specified in subsection (2). (2) Those modifications are—
  1. (a) in section 24, any reference to the parental responsibility for the child is to be read as a reference to the parental responsibilities and parental rights in relation to the child; and
  2. (b) in section 27(2), the reference to the court is to be read as a reference to the authorised court.
 53C Further consequences of placement and placement orders (1) Subsection (2) applies where—
  1. (a) a child is placed for adoption under section 18 of the Adoption and Children Act 2002 (placing children with parental consent); or
  2. (b) an adoption agency is authorised to place the child for adoption under that section.
 (2) No order under subsection (1) of section 11 of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 (court orders relating to parental responsibilities etc.) of a kind referred to in subsection (2)(c) (residence orders) of that section may be made in respect of the child. (3) On the making of an order under section 20 of the Adoption and Children Act 2002 (a "placement order") in respect of a child, any order under subsection (1) of section 11 of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 of a kind referred to in subsection (2)(c) to (f) (residence orders, contact orders, specific issue orders and interdicts in relation to parental responsibilities) of that section in respect of the child ceases to have effect. (4) Where a placement order is in force
  1. (a) no such order as is referred to in subsection (3) of this section; and
  2. (b) no order under section 55 of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 (child assessment orders),
 may be made in respect of the child.".'

No. 307, in page 85, line 35, at end insert— '25B In section 60 (orders, rules and regulations), after subsection (3) there is inserted— (3A) An order under section 65(2) shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of the Scottish Parliament.".'.

No. 315, in page 85, line 35, at end insert— '25A In selection 59 (rules of procedure)— (a) in subsection (2)—

  1. (i) for the words from "in relation to" to "adoption", where it secondly occurs, there is substituted "(except where an order has been made freeing the child for adoption)"; and
  2. (ii) for the words from "every" to "Act" there is substituted "any person mentioned in subsection (2A)"; and
(b) after subsection (2) there is inserted— (2A) The persons referred to in subsection (2) are—
  1. (a) every person who can be found and whose agreement or consent to the making of the order is required to be given or dispensed with under this Act or, if no such person can be found, any relative prescribed by the rules who can be found;
    2. 85
  2. (b) every person who has consented to the making of the order under section 19 of the Adoption and Children Act 2002 (and has not withdrawn the consent) unless he has given a notice under subsection (4)(a) of that section which has effect;
  3. (c) every person who, if leave were given under section 16(3B), would be entitled to oppose the making of the order.".'.

No. 316, in page 86, leave out lines 4 to 7.

No. 317, in page 86, line 7, at end insert—

, and ( ) in the definition of "order freeing a child for adoption", paragraph (a) and the word "and" immediately following that paragraph are omitted.'

No. 64, in page 86, line 16, leave out from "proceedings)" to end of line 18 and insert—

  1. '(a) in subsection (1), "(other than proceedings under the Adoption Act 1976)" is omitted,
  2. (b) in subsection (2)—
    1. (i) for "the Adoption Act 1976" there is substituted "the Adoption and Children Act 2002",
    2. (ii) the words following "(a) and (b)" are omitted.'.

No. 40, in page 86, leave out lines 26 to 29.

No. 275, in page 88, line 39, at end insert— (ab) an order made under section 25 of the Adoption and Children Act 2002 (contact), other than an order varying or revoking such an order'.

No. 276, in page 88, line 43, at end insert— '(2B) A court in England and Wales shall not have jurisdiction to make an order under section 25 of the Adoption and Children Act 2002 unless the condition in section 3 of this Act is satisfied'.

No. 322, in page 89, line 15, at end insert—

The Adoption (Northern Ireland) Order 1987 (S.I. 1987/2203 (N.I. 22)) 45A In Article 2(2) (interpretation), in the definition of "prescribed" for "Articles 54" there is substituted "Articles 53(3B) and (3D), 54".'—[Jacqui Smith.]

Jacqui Smith

I beg to move amendment No. 106, in page 89, line 23, at end insert— '( ) after subsection (5) there is inserted— (5A) A local authority foster parent is entitled to apply for a residence order with respect to a child if the child has lived with him for a period of at least one year immediately preceding the application.",'.

The amendment removes an inconsistency between the Children Act 1989 and the adoption provisions as they relate to local authority foster carers. Under clause 41(4), a local authority foster carer may apply as of right for an adoption order for a child in their care, provided that the child has had his or her home with the foster carer for 12 months. The carers do not need the leave of the court or the permission of the local authority to apply to adopt. However, under clause 109, which relates to section 9 of the 1989 Act, if a child has lived with a local authority foster carer for one year, the carer may apply for a residence order, but needs the leave of the court to make the application. Stakeholders have drawn our attention to that inconsistency. We do not believe that it is right that there should be a leave requirement for residence order applications by foster carers after one year when there is not one for adoption orders, which have greater lifelong implications.

The amendment removes that minor inconsistency by making specific provision in section 10 of the 1989 Act in respect of residence orders. It makes it clear that the foster carer may apply as of right if a child has been with them for one year, up to the time when the application is made. I hope that the House will support that minor correction.

Tim Loughton

That is fine.

Amendment agreed to.

7.30 pm

Amendments made: No. 107, in page 91, line 4, leave out from beginning to "or".

No. 264, in page 91, line 17, leave out "care" and insert "section 31A".

No. 265, in page 91, line 17, leave out "31A(1)" and insert "31A(6)".

No. 284, in page 94, line 29, leave out "14" and insert "13".

No. 285, in page 95, line 3, at end insert— Section 14 (restriction on bringing children into the United Kingdom for adoption) is omitted'. No. 269, in page 95, line 21, leave out from "1999" to the end of line 23 and insert— '(e) an offence under the Adoption and Children Act 2002 or regulations made under it." ' No. 266, in page 96, line 11, at end insert— In section 12(5) of the Criminal Justice and Court Services Act 2000 (meaning of "family proceedings" in relation to CAFCASS), paragraph (b) (supervision orders under the 1989 Act) and the preceding "and" are omitted'.—[Jacqui Smith.]

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