The Advocacy Services and Representations Procedure (Children) (Amendment) Regulations 2004

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

The Adoption and Children Act 2002 imposes a duty on local authorities to provide advocacy services for certain categories of complainant under the Children Act 1989 (“the Act”) representations procedure. It inserts into the Act a new section (section 26A) which requires local authorities to make arrangements for the provision of assistance, including assistance by way of representation, to care leavers and children who make or intend to make representations using the procedures under sections 24D and 26(3) of the Act.

These Regulations specify who may not provide assistance under these arrangements for a care leaver or child making or intending to make such representations (regulation 3).

These Regulations also require local authorities to provide information about advocacy services and to offer help in finding an advocate to a child or young person who is making representations or, when they become of aware of the fact, who is intending to make representations (regulation 4).

Regulation 5 requires local authorities to monitor the steps that they have taken with a view to ensuring that they comply with the Regulations in particular by keeping a record about each advocate provided under arrangements made by the local authority under section 26A(1) of the Act. The intention is that in this way the local authority will be able to check that no advocate provided under the arrangements was prohibited from being an advocate by virtue of regulation 3.

Regulation 6 amends the regulations governing the representations procedures – the Representations Procedure (Children) Regulations 1991 – so as to ensure that an appointed advocate is involved throughout the process.