HC Deb 20 May 2002 vol 386 cc86-8

Amendments made: No. 286, in page 96, line 40, at end insert— 'THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND COURT SERVICES ACT 2000 (c.43) 2A (1) The facilities to be provided by local authorities as part of the service maintained under section 1(1) of the Adoption Act 1976 include such arrangements as the authorities may be required by regulations to make for the provision of adoption support services to prescribed persons. (2) Regulations under sub-paragraph (1) may require a local authority—

  1. (a) at the request of a prescribed person, to carry out an assessment of his needs for adoption support services,
  2. (b) if, as a result of the assessment, the authority decide that he has such needs, to decide whether to provide any such services to him,
  3. (c) if the authority decide to provide any such services to a person, and the circumstances fall within a description prescribed by the regulations, to prepare a plan in accordance with which the services are to be provided to him and keep the plan under review.
(3) Subsections (6) and (7) (except paragraph (a)) of section 4 of this Act apply to regulations under sub-paragraph (1) as they apply to regulations made by virtue of that section. (4) Section 57(1) of the Adoption Act 1976 (prohibited payments) does not apply to any payment made in accordance with regulations under sub-paragraph (1). 2B (1) After section 9 of the Adoption Act 1976 there is inserted— 9A Independent review of determinations (1) Regulations under section 9 may establish a procedure under which any person in respect of whom a qualifying determination has been made by an adoption agency may apply to a panel constituted by the Secretary of State for a review of that determination. (2) The regulations must make provision as to the description of determinations which are qualifying determinations for the purposes of subsection (1). (3) The regulations may include provision as to
  1. (a) the duties and powers of a panel (including the power to recover the costs of a review from the adoption agency by which the determination reviewed was made),
  2. (b) the administration and procedures of a panel,
  3. (c) 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),
  4. (d) the payment of expenses of members of a panel,
  5. (e) the duties of adoption agencies in connection with reviews conducted under the regulations,
  6. (f) the monitoring of any such reviews.
 (4) The Secretary of State may make an arrangement with an organisation under which functions in relation to the panel are performed by the organisation on his behalf. (5) If the Secretary of State makes such an arrangement with an organisation, the organisation is to perform its functions under the arrangement in accordance with any general or special directions given by the Secretary of State. (6) The arrangement may include provision for payments to be made to the organisation by the Secretary of State. (7) Where the functions of the Secretary of State are exercisable by the National Assembly for Wales, subsections (4) and (6) also apply as if references to an organisation included references to the Secretary of State. (8) In this section, "organisation" includes a public body and a private or voluntary organisation". (2) In the National Assembly for Wales (Transfer of Functions) Order 1999, in Schedule 1, in the entry for the Adoption Act 1976, after "9" there is inserted "9A".'

No. 277, in page 97, line 12, leave out "20 and" and insert "19 to".

Independent review mechanism

No. 287, in page 97, line 41, at end insert— 7A (1) For section 56A of the Adoption Act 1976 there is substituted— 56A Restriction on bringing children into the United Kingdom (1) This section applies where a person who is habitually resident in the British Islands (the "British resident")—

  1. (a) brings, or causes another to bring, a child who is habitually resident outside the British Islands into the United Kingdom for the purpose of adoption by the British resident, or
  2. (b) at any time brings, or causes another to bring, into the United Kingdom a child adopted by the British resident under an external adoption effected within the period of six months ending with that time.
The references to adoption, or to a child adopted, by the British resident include a reference to adoption, or to a child adopted, by the British resident and another person. (2) But this section does not apply if—
  1. (a) the adopters or (as the case may be) prospective adopters are natural parents, natural relatives or guardians of the child (or one of them is),
  2. (b) the British resident is a step-parent of the child,
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  3. (c) the child is intended to be adopted under a Convention adoption order.
 (3) An external adoption means an adoption, other than a Convention adoption, of a child effected under the law of any country or territory outside the British Islands, whether or not the adoption is—
  1. (a) an adoption within the meaning of Part IV of this Act, or
  2. (b) a full adoption (within the meaning of section 39(3A)).
 (4) Regulations may require a person intending to bring, or to cause another to bring, a child into the United Kingdom in circumstances where this section applies—
  1. (a) to apply to an adoption agency (including an adoption agency within the meaning of section 1 of the Adoption (Scotland) Act 1978 or Article 3 of the Adoption (Northern Ireland) Order 1987) in the prescribed manner for an assessment of his suitability to adopt the child, and
  2. (b) to give the agency any information it may require for the purpose of the assessment.
 (5) Regulations may require prescribed conditions to be met in respect of a child brought into the United Kingdom in circumstances where this section applies. (6) In relation to a child brought into the United Kingdom for adoption in circumstances where this section applies, regulations may, in respect of a case where any requirements imposed by the regulations are not complied with, modify the reference to 13 weeks in section 13(1). (7) If a person brings, or causes another to bring, a child into the United Kingdom at any time in circumstances where this section applies, he is guilty of an offence if—
  1. he has not complied with any requirement imposed by virtue of subsection (4), or
  2. any condition required to be met by virtue of subsection (5) is not met,
 before that time, or before any later time which may be prescribed. (8) A person guilty of an offence under this section is liable—
  1. (a) on summary conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months, or a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum, or both,
  2. (b) on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding twelve months, or a fine, or both.
 (9) In this section, "prescribed" means prescribed by regulations and "regulations" means regulations made by the Secretary of State, after consultation with the National Assembly for Wales". 7B (1) In section 58 of the Adoption Act 1976 (restrictions on advertisements)— (a) after subsection (1) there is inserted— (1A) Publishing an advertisement includes doing so by electronic means (for example, by means of the internet).", (b) in subsection (2), for the words following "conviction" there is substituted "to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months, or a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale, or both". 7C In section 52 of the Adoption (Scotland) Act 1978 (restriction on advertisements)— (a) after subsection (1) there is inserted— (1A) Publishing an advertisement includes doing so by electronic means (for example, by means of the internet).", (b) in subsection (2), for the words following "conviction" there is substituted "to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months, or a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale, or both".'

No. 318, in page 98, line 20, at end insert— Advertising—[Jacqui Smith.]

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