Amendments to the legislation: 1989‐2009
| Pages | 7-16 |
| Published date | 30 June 2010 |
| Date | 30 June 2010 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.5042/jcs.2010.0297 |
| Author | Julie Doughty |
| Subject Matter | Education,Health & social care,Sociology |
Journal of Children’s Ser vices • V olume 5 Issue 2 • June 2010 © Pier Professional Lt d 7
10.5042/jcs.2010.0297
Abstract
original wording of the Act, with brief summaries of the relevant background and references
to comment by leading figures in law and social work. The review follows the structure of the
Act, beginning with the welfare principle and covering: private law provisions; local authority
duties to children in need; care orders; and child protection. It is concluded that the majority
of the amendments have arisen through increased recognition of the impact of domestic
violence on children, campaigning by the fathers’ rights movements and the economic
pressures on local authorities that have prevented the provision of adequate services to
children in need.
Key words
Children Act 1989; legislative amendments; the welfare principle; private law provisions;
children in need; child protection; domestic violence
Partnership Act 2004, extending relevant provisions
to civil partners, but this review concentrates
on those changes which came about through
reframing the initial principles of the Act. The
following legislation will be referred to: Family Law
The welfare of the child
The text of section 1 of the Act (Welfare of the
child) has been amended only by adding orders
for special guardianship to those where the court
is to have particular regard to section 1(3), now
commonly known as ‘the welfare checklist’.
The important change to this list can be found
Introduction
This review of the legislative changes to the
Children Act 1989 is structured thematically and
follows the sequential Parts of the Act. Most of
the original 108 sections of the Act have been
amended, and over 90 new sections have been
added, since its implementation in October
1991. Amendments have generated a plethora
of supporting regulations and guidance, although
of the original 10 volumes of guidance published
as ‘a new framework for the care and upbringing
of children’ in 1991, only Volume One has been
revised. This review therefore highlights only the
most significant changes, and does not attempt
to be an authoritative guide to the entire Act and
secondary legislation (for a detailed commentary
see White et al, 2009). Important amendments
have, for example, been made by the Civil
Amendments to the
legislation: 1989–2009
Julie Doughty
Cardiff Law School, Cardiff University, UK
To continue reading
Request your trial