Children and Young Persons (Scotland) Act 1937
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | 1937 c. 37 |
Children and Young Persons (Scotland) Act, 1937
(1 Edw. 8 & 1 Geo. 6.) CHAPTER 37.
An Act to consolidate in their application to Scotland certain enactments relating to persons under the age of eighteen years.
[1st July 1937]
Be it enacted by the King's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—
Part I.
Child Life Protection.
1 Notices to be given by persons receiving childrenfor reward.
(1) Where a person undertakes for reward the nursing and maintenance of a child under the age of nine years apart from his parents, or having no parents, he shall give notice in writing thereof to the local authority—
(a ) in the case of a child not already in his care, being the first child proposed to be received by him for reward in the dwelling occupied or proposed to be occupied for the purpose, not less than seven days before he receives the child;
(b ) in the case of any other child not already in his care, not less than forty-eight hours before he receives the child; and
(c ) in the case of a child already in his care without reward, within forty-eight hours after entering into the undertaking:
Provided that, in any proceedings in respect of a failure to give such notice as aforesaid, it shall be a defence for the accused person to prove that the child was received by him upon an emergency and that notice was given by him within twelve hours thereafter.
For the purposes of this subsection, an undertaking shall be deemed to be an undertaking for reward if there is any payment or gift of money or money's worth, or any promise to pay or give money or money's worth, irrespective of whether there is any intention of making profit.
(2) The notice required by the preceding subsection shall state the name and sex of the child, the date and place of his birth, the name of the person undertaking his nursing and maintenance, the dwelling within which he is to be, or is being, kept and the name of the person from whom he is to be, or was, received.
(3) Any reference in the following provisions of this Part of this Act to a child in respect of whom such a notice as aforesaid is required to be given shall be construed as including a reference to a child under the age of nine years in respect of whom such a notice has been given and who is still living apart from his parents, if any, with the person by whom the notice was given.
(4) If a person who is maintaining a child in respect of whom notice is required to be given under this Part of this Act changes his residence, he shall at least seven days before so doing give to the local authority notice in writing of the change, and, where the residence to which he moves is situate in the area of another local authority, he shall at least seven days before so moving give to that local authority the like notice as respects each child in his care as is by this section required to be given on the first reception of a child:
Provided that, where an immediate change of residence is necessitated by any emergency, a notice under this subsection may be given at any time within forty-eight hours after the change of residence.
(5) If any such child dies or is removed from the care of the person who has undertaken his nursing and maintenance, that person shall, within twenty-four hours thereof, give to the local authority and to the person from whom the child was received notice in writing of the death or removal, and in a case of removal the notice shall also state the name and address of the person to whose care the child has been transferred.
(6) If any person required to give a notice under this section fails to give the notice before the latest time specified for giving the notice, he shall be guilty of an offence under this Part of this Act, and, if the consideration for the nursing and maintenance of the child in respect of which notice ought to have been given consisted in whole or in part of a lump sum, the person failing to give the notice shall, in addition to any other penalty under this Part of this Act, be liable to forfeit that sum or such less sum as the court having cognizance of the case may deem just, and the sum forfeited shall be applied for the benefit of the child in such manner as the court may direct.
For the purposes of any enactment by which the time for taking proceedings is limited, an offence under this subsection shall be deemed to continue so long as the child in respect of whom a notice ought to have been given remains in the care of the offender without any notice having been given.
(7) Any reference in this Part of this Act to a notice required to be given thereunder or by or under any provision thereof shall be construed as including a reference to a notice required to be given under any enactment relating to infant life protection repealed by this Act, and any person who at the commencement of this Act is nursing and maintaining for reward a child in respect of whom a notice required to be given under any such enactment so repealed has not been given before the latest time specified for giving such notice shall be deemed to be guilty of an offence under the last foregoing subsection.
2 Appointment and powers of inspectors, &c.
(1) It shall be the duty of every local authority to provide for the execution of this Part of this Act within their area, and for that purpose they shall from time to time make inquiry whether there are any persons residing therein who undertake the nursing and maintenance of children in respect of whom notice is required to be given under this Part of this Act.
(2) If in the area of any local authority any persons are found to undertake the nursing and maintenance of such children as aforesaid, the local authority shall appoint one or more persons to be child protection visitors, whose duty it shall be from time to time to visit any children in respect of whom notice is required to be given under this Part of this Act, and the premises in which they are kept, in order to satisfy themselves as to the health and well-being of the children or to give any necessary advice or directions as to the care of their health and their maintenance:
Provided that the local authority may, either in addition to or in lieu of appointing child protection visitors, authorise in writing one or more suitable persons to exercise the powers of such visitors, subject to such terms and conditions as may be stated in the authorisation, and, where any children have been placed out to nurse in the area of the authority by any philanthropic society, may, if satisfied that the interests of the children are properly safeguarded, so authorise the society to exercise those powers as respects those children, subject, however, to the obligation to furnish periodical reports to the local authority.
Where a local authority appoint or authorise one person only to act under this subsection, that person and, where they so appoint or authorise two or more persons, one at least of those persons, shall be a woman.
(3) A local authority may exempt from being visited, either unconditionally or subject to such conditions as they think fit, any particular premises within their area which appear to them to be so conducted that it is unnecessary that they should be visited.
(4) If any person undertaking the nursing and maintenance of any such children as aforesaid refuses to allow any such visitor or other person to visit or examine the children or the premises in which they are kept, he shall be guilty of an offence under this Part of this Act.
(5) If any such visitor or other person is refused admittance to any premises in contravention of this Part of this Act, or has reason to believe that any children under the age of nine years are being kept in premises in contravention of this Part of this Act, he may apply to a justice, who, on being satisfied, on information on oath, that there is reasonable ground for believing that an offence under this Part of this Act has been committed, may grant a warrant authorising the visitor or other person to enter the premises for the purpose of ascertaining whether any offence under this Part of this Act has been committed, and if the occupier of the premises or any other person obstructs or causes or procures to be obstructed any visitor or other person acting in pursuance of such a warrant, he shall be guilty of an offence under this Part of this Act.
3 Persons prohibited from receiving children forreward.
3. A child in respect of whom notice is required to be given under this Part of this Act, shall not, without the written sanction of the local authority, be kept—
and any person keeping a child contrary to this section, or causing a...
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