Adoption Agencies (Scotland) Regulations 1984
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | SI 1984/988 |
| Year | 1984 |
1984 No. 988 (S. 95)
CHILDREN AND YOUNG PERSONS
The Adoption Agencies (Scotland) Regulations 198412thJuly 1984
18thJuly 1984
1stSeptember 1984
In exercise of the powers conferred on me by sections 3(1), 9 and 60(1) of the Adoption (Scotland) Act 1978(a) , and of all other powers enabling me in that behalf, I hereby make the following regulations:—
Citation, commencement and extent
1.—(1) These regulations may be cited as the Adoption Agencies (Scotland) Regulations 1984 and shall come into operation on 1st September 1984.
(2) These regulations shall apply to Scotland only.
Interpretation
2.—(1) In these regulations, unless the context otherwise requires—
"the Act" means the Adoption (Scotland) Act 1978;
"adoption agency" means a local authority or an approved adoption society within the meaning of the Act;
"adoption panel" means a panel appointed in accordance with regulation 11;,
"court" means an authorised court as defined by section 56 of the Act;
(2) In these regulations any reference to an adoption order shall include reference to an order under section 49 of the Act and any reference to a person proposing to adopt a child shall include reference to a person proposing to apply for such an order.
(3) In these regulations any reference to a numbered regulation or schedule shall be construed as a reference to the regulation or schedule bearing that number in these regulations.
Approved adoption societies
3. An application to the Secretary of State under section 3 of the Act for approval as an adoption society shall be made in writing and shall provide information about the applicant as to the matters specified in sub-sections (3) to (5) of that section.
4. An unincorporated body is prohibited from applying to the Secretary of State for his approval under section 3 of the Act to its acting as an adoption society.
(a) 1978 c.28.
5. An approved adoption society shall notify the Secretary of State in writing of any change in its name or in the address of its registered or head office within one month after such change.
6. An approved adoption society shall prepare an annual report on the exercise of its functions in relation to adoption and shall provide the Secretary of State with a copy of such a report as soon as possible after the expiry of the year to which the report relates.
7. As soon as possible after the end of each financial year of an approved adoption society, the society shall provide the Secretary of State with an abstract of the society's accounts for that year, signed on behalf of the society and certified by its auditors.
8. An approved adoption society which intends to cease to act as an adoption society shall notify the Secretary of State in writing of such intention at least one month before the intended date of such cessation.
9. An approved adoption society which has ceased to act as an adoption society shall notify the Secretary of State in writing that it has ceased so to act, as soon thereafter as is reasonably practicable.
Appointment of medical adviser
10. An adoption agency shall appoint such number of registered medical practitioners as it considers necessary for the purpose of providing it with medical advice in connection with the exercise of its functions.
Appointment and composition of adoption panels
11. An adoption agency shall appoint an adoption panel for the purpose of considering and advising on the matters specified in regulation 18 and may appoint such additional adoption panels as it considers necessary.
12. An adoption agency shall satisfy itself that the numbers, qualifications or experience of individual members of an adoption panel will enable it effectively to discharge its functions under regulation 18.
13.—(1) An adoption panel shall consist of not less than 6 persons each of whom shall be competent to assess whether any recommendation in relation to a child to be made by virtue of regulation 18(1) is likely to promote the welfare of the child, and shall include at least one man and at least one woman.
(2) The persons appointed to an adoption panel shall include the person nominated as the medical adviser to the adoption agency under regulation 10 (or one of them if more than one medical adviser is appointed).
(3) An adoption panel shall make the recommendations specified in regulation 18 only when at least 3 of its members, excluding any medical adviser appointed under paragraph 2 above, meet as a panel.
Application of regulations to certain adoption agencies
14. Where an adoption agency operates only for the purpose of putting persons into contact with other adoption agencies and for the purpose of putting agencies into contact with each other or for either of such purposes, regulations 11, 12 and 13 shall not apply to such an agency.
Duties of adoption agencies in providing information to each parent or guardian
15.—(1) An adoption agency—
(a) shall secure that each parent or guardian of a child is provided with a memorandum
either—
(i) in the form set out in Schedule 1 where it is proposed to make arrangements for adoption of the child;
or—
(ii) in the form set out in Schedule 2 where it is proposed to make an application for a freeing order under section 18 of the Act.
(b) shall ensure that each parent or guardian of the child signs and returns to the agency a certificate in the form set out in Schedule 1 or 2 as the case may be, or a form to the like effect, certifying that he has read and understood that memorandum;
(c) shall at the request of the parents or guardian provide them with the names and addresses of adoption agencies, if any are available, which might meet their wishes regarding the child's upbringing in a particular religious persuasion.
(2) Where the identity of the father of an illegitimate child is known to the adoption agency, it shall so far as it considers it reasonably practicable and in the interests of the child—
(a) carry out in respect of the father the requirements of paragraph 1(a) and (b) as if they applied to him, unless the agency is satisfied that another adoption agency has so complied with those requirements;
(b) obtain in respect of the father the information required under Schedule 3; and
(c) ascertain so far as possible whether he intends to apply for custody of the child.
Duties of adoption agencies in making arrangements for freeing for adoption
16. An adoption agency shall not make application for an order under section 18 of the Act (freeing a child for adoption) unless—
(a) the adoption agency has, so far as is reasonably practicable, ascertained the particulars set out in Part I of Schedule 3;
(b) the adoption agency has obtained a report prepared within the previous 12 months by a fully registered medical practitioner as to the health of the child;
(c) the adoption agency has prepared a written report containing its observations on the matters referred to in this regulation, and has passed that report together with all information obtained by it by virtue of this regulation to the adoption panel or to another adoption agency; and
(d) the adoption agency, after considering all the information obtained in pursuance of this regulation and having regard to the recommendation of the adoption panel under regulation 18 and all other circumstances, has concluded in accordance with section 6 of the Act (duty to promote welfare of child) that it is appropriate for the child to be placed for adoption.
Duties of adoption agencies in making arrangements for adoption
17.—(1) An adoption agency shall not place or secure the placing of a child in the care and possession of any person proposing to adopt the child until—
(a) the adoption agency has so far as is reasonably practicable, ascertained the particulars set out in Schedule 3;
(b) the adoption agency has obtained a report prepared within the previous 12 months by a fully registered medical practitioner as to the health of the child;
(c) the adoption agency has obtained a report prepared within the previous 12 months by a fully registered medical practitioner as to the health of each person proposing to adopt the child;
(d) that person has been interviewed by or on behalf of the adoption agency;
(e) the adoption agency has satisfied itself by a visit on its behalf that any premises in Great Britain within which that person intends that the child shall have his home are satisfactory;
(f) the adoption agency has made enquiries to satisfy itself that there is no reason to believe that it would be detrimental to the welfare of the child for him to be kept by that person and by that person in those premises and has inquired of every regional or islands council in whose area those premises are situated whether that local authority has reason to believe that it would be detrimental to the welfare of the child—
(i) for him to be kept by that person in those premises; or
(ii) for the proposed adoption to proceed.
(g) the adoption agency has prepared a written report containing its observations on the matters referred to in this regulation and has passed that report together with all information obtained by it by virtue of this regulation to the adoption panel or to another adoption agency;
(h) the adoption agency, has concluded in accordance with section 6 of the Act (duty to promote welfare of child) that the child should be so placed.
(2) The adoption agency shall ensure that such laboratory tests as are considered to be clinically necessary are carried out on the child and shall arrange that a report based thereon is obtained from a fully registered medical practitioner unless such tests have already been carried out and the findings are known to the agency.
(3) Wherever practicable any report in connection with paragraph (2) above shall be included in the report obtained by the adoption agency under paragraph 1(b) of this regulation.
Functions of adoption panels
18.—(1) Subject to paragraphs (2), (3) and (4) an adoption panel shall consider the case of...
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