COMMONS AMENDMENT (Hansard, 8 November 1989)

§ The Lord Chancellor

My Lords, I beg to move that the House do agree with the Commons in their Amendment No. 189. I shall also speak to Amendments Nos. 194, 350, and 363 to 369.

Clause 52 originally provided inter alia for local authorities to treat establishments caring privately for more than three children as private children's homes instead of private foster homes. The amendment to Clause 52 and the introduction of the new Schedule 6A will apply a normal upper limit of three foster children, unless they are siblings, to local authority voluntary organisations and private foster parents. It will provide local authorities with discretion to increase the limit in particular circumstances.

Amendments Nos. 363 and 364 provide a right of appeal for private foster parents aggrieved by a local authority's refusal to grant exemption from the normal fostering limit imposed by the new Schedule 6A on a condition attached to an exemption or a variation of an exemption. Amendments Nos. 365, 366 and 367 apply to these appeals the conditions which apply to existing rights of appeal against local authority decisions in respect of private fostering.

Amendment No. 368 removes subparagraph (6) of paragraph 8 of Schedule 7 concerning appeals. Amendment No. 369 makes it clear that even these rights of appeal are not available to local authority foster parents or foster parents with whom children are placed by a voluntary organisation. Both these categories have access to complaints procedures in accordance with regulations.