Adoption and Children Act (Northern Ireland) 2022
| Year | 2022 |
Adoption and Children Act (Northern Ireland) 2022
2022 Chapter 18
An Act to restate and amend the law relating to adoption; to make further amendments of the law relating to children; and for connected purposes.
[27 April 2022]
BE IT ENACTED by being passed by the Northern Ireland Assembly and assented to by Her Majesty as follows:
PART 1
Adoption
CHAPTER 1
Introductory
1 Considerations applying to the exercise of powers
(1) This section applies whenever a court or adoption agency is coming to a decision relating to the adoption of a child.
(2) The paramount consideration of the court or adoption agency must be the child’s welfare, throughout the life of the child.
(3) The court or adoption agency must at all times bear in mind that, in general, any delay in coming to the decision is likely to prejudice the child’s welfare.
(4) The court or adoption agency must have regard to the following matters (among others)—
(a)
(a) the value to the child of a stable and harmonious family unit;
(b)
(b) the child’s particular needs;
(c)
(c) the likely effect on the child (throughout the life of the child) of having ceased to be a member of the original family and become an adopted person;
(d)
(d) the child’s age, sex, background and any of the child’s characteristics which the court or agency considers relevant;
(e)
(e) any harm (within the meaning of the Children Order) which the child has suffered or is at risk of suffering;
(f)
(f) the child’s ascertainable wishes and feelings regarding the decision (considered in the light of the child’s age and understanding);
(g)
(g) the relationship which the child has with relatives, with any person who is a prospective adopter with whom the child is placed, and with any other person in relation to whom the court or agency considers the relationship to be relevant, including—
(i) the likelihood of any such relationship continuing and the value to the child of its doing so;
(ii) the ability and willingness of any of the child’s relatives, or of any such person, to provide the child with a secure environment in which the child can develop, and otherwise to meet the child’s needs;
(iii) the wishes and feelings of any of the child’s relatives, or of any such person, regarding the child.
(5) In placing the child for adoption, the adoption agency must give due consideration to the child’s religious persuasion, racial origin and cultural and linguistic background.
(6) The court or adoption agency must always consider the whole range of powers available to it in the child’s case (whether under this Act or the Children Order); and the court must not make any order under this Act unless it considers that making the order would be better for the child than not doing so.
(7) In this section “”, in relation to a court, includes—
(a)
(a) coming to a decision in any proceedings where the orders that might be made by the court include an adoption order (or the revocation of such an order), a placement order (or the revocation of such an order) or an order under section 23 or 49 (or the revocation or variation of such an order); and
(b)
(b) coming to a decision about granting leave in respect of any action (other than the initiation of proceedings in any court) which may be taken by an adoption agency or individual under this Act,
but does not include coming to a decision about granting leave in any other circumstances.
(8) For the purposes of this section—
(a)
(a) references to relationships are not confined to legal relationships;
(b)
(b) references to a relative, in relation to a child, include the child’s mother and father.
CHAPTER 2
The Adoption Service
The Adoption Service
2 Basic definitions
(1) The services maintained under section 4(1) may be collectively referred to as “”.
(2) In this Act—
“” means an adoption authority or an appropriate voluntary organisation;
“” means a body whose functions consist of or include making arrangements for the adoption of children;
“” is to be construed in accordance with section 3.
(3) In this Act “” means a voluntary organisation which is an adoption society in respect of which a person is registered; but in relation to the provision of any facility of the Adoption Service, references to an appropriate voluntary organisation or to an adoption agency do not include an adoption society if the registration is not in respect of that facility.
(4) Registration in respect of an adoption society is to be treated as being in respect of any facility of the Adoption Service unless it is a condition of the registration that that facility is not provided.
(5) In subsections (3) and (4)—
“” means registered under Part 3 of the Health and Personal Social Services (Quality, Improvement and Regulation) (Northern Ireland) Order 2003;
“” means registration under that Order.
(6) In this Act “” means—
(a)
(a) counselling, advice and information; and
(b)
(b) such other services as may be prescribed,
in relation to adoption.
(7) The power to make regulations under subsection (6)(b) is to be exercised so as to secure that adoption authorities provide financial support.
(8) In this Chapter references to adoption are to the adoption of persons, wherever they may be habitually resident, effected under the law of any country or territory, whether within or outside the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man.
3 Adoption authority
(1) Every HSC trust is the adoption authority in relation to its area.
(2) But regulations may provide that in relation to prescribed functions or services under this Act another HSC trust is to be the adoption authority in relation to that area.
(3) In this Act—
“” means a Health and Social Care trust established under Article 10 of the Health and Personal Social Services (Northern Ireland) Order 1991 except the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service Health and Social Care Trust; and
references to the area of an HSC trust are to its operational area as specified under paragraph 3A of Schedule 3 to the Health and Personal Social Services (Northern Ireland) Order 1991.
(4) Regulations may amend the definition of “HSC trust” in subsection (3).
4 The Adoption Service
(1) An adoption authority must maintain a service designed to meet the needs, in relation to adoption, of—
(a)
(a) children who may be adopted, their parents and guardians;
(b)
(b) persons wishing to adopt a child; and
(c)
(c) adopted persons, their parents, natural parents and former guardians;
and for that purpose must provide the requisite facilities.
(2) Those facilities must include making, and participating in, arrangements—
(a)
(a) for the adoption of children; and
(b)
(b) for the provision of adoption support services.
(3) As part of the service, the arrangements made for the purposes of subsection (2)(b)—
(a)
(a) must extend to the provision of adoption support services to persons who are within a prescribed description;
(b)
(b) may extend to the provision of those services to other persons.
(4) An adoption authority may provide any of the requisite facilities by securing their provision by—
(a)
(a) an appropriate voluntary organisation or in relation to the provision of adoption support services of a prescribed description a voluntary organisation; or
(b)
(b) other persons who are within a prescribed description of persons who may provide the facilities in question.
(5) The facilities of the service must be provided in conjunction with any other social care provided by the adoption authority, with appropriate voluntary organisations and with voluntary organisations providing facilities under subsection (4)(a), so that help may be given in a co-ordinated manner without duplication, omission or avoidable delay.
(6) In this section “” has the meaning given by section 2(5) of the Health and Social Care (Reform) Act (Northern Ireland) 2009 (and, in particular, social care in so far as it relates to children).
5 Assessments etc. for adoption support services
(1) An adoption authority must at the request of—
(a)
(a) any of the persons mentioned in paragraphs (a) to (c) of section 4(1), or
(b)
(b) any other person who falls within a prescribed description (subject to subsection (8)(a)),
carry out an assessment of that person’s needs for adoption support services.
(2) An adoption authority may, at the request of any person, carry out an assessment of that person’s needs for adoption support services.
(3) An adoption authority may request the help of the persons mentioned in paragraph (a) or (b) of section 4(4) in carrying out an assessment.
(4) Where, as a result of an assessment, an adoption authority decides that a person has needs for adoption support services, the adoption authority must then decide whether to provide any such services to that person, subject to subsection (5).
(5) An adoption authority must provide adoption support services to a person under subsection (4) where—
(a)
(a) that person is a child who may be adopted;
(b)
(b) that person is a parent or guardian of a child who may be adopted;
(c)
(c) that person is a person wishing to adopt a child;
(d)
(d) that person is an adopted person;
(e)
(e) that person is a parent, natural parent or former guardian of an adopted person; or
(f)
(f) that person is within a prescribed description.
(6) If—
(a)
(a) an adoption authority decides to provide any adoption support services to a person under subsection (4) or is under a duty to do so by virtue of subsection (5); and
(b)
(b) the circumstances fall within a prescribed description,
the adoption authority must prepare a plan in accordance with which adoption support services are to be provided to the person and keep the plan under review.
(7) Regulations may make provision about assessments, preparing and reviewing plans, the provision of adoption support services in accordance with plans and...
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