The Fostering Services (Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2003

Welsh Statutory Instruments

2003 No. 896 (W.116)

SOCIAL CARE, WALES

The Fostering Services (Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2003

Made

26th March 2003

Coming into force

1st April 2003

The National Assembly for Wales, in exercise of the powers conferred upon it by sections 16(2), 22(1), (2)(a) to (c), (e) to (j), (6), (7)(a) to (h), (j), 25(1), 34(1), 35(1), 48(1), 118(5), (6) and (7) of the Care Standards Act 2000(1) and sections 23(2)(a) and (9), 59(2) and 62(3) of, and paragraph 12 of Schedule 2 to, the Children Act 1989(2)), hereby makes the following Regulations:

Citation, commencement and application

1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Fostering Services (Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2003 and shall come into force on 1st April 2003 immediately after the coming into force of the Fostering Services (Wales) Regulations 2003(3).

(2) These Regulations apply to Wales only.

Amendment of the Fostering Services (Wales) Regulations 2003

2.—(1) The Fostering Services (Wales) Regulations 2003 are amended in accordance with this regulation.

(2) For regulation 52 (transitional provisions) substitute the following regulation—

“52.— (1) This paragraph applies to any person who immediately prior to the coming into force of these Regulations either carried on or managed and continues to either carry on or manage a fostering agency.

(2) Section 11(1), (5) and (6) of the 2000 Act will not apply to a person to whom paragraph (1) applies (“unregistered person”) —

(a) if an application for registration is duly made before 1st July 2003 under Part II of the 2000 Act, until such time as the application for registration is granted, either unconditionally or subject only to conditions which have been agreed in writing between that person and the National Assembly; or

(b) if an application duly made in accordance with sub paragraph (a) is granted subject to conditions which have not been so agreed, or refused—

(i) if no appeal is brought, until the expiration of the period of 28 days after service on that person of notice of the National Assembly’s decision; or

(ii) if an appeal is brought, until it is determined or abandoned; or

(c) until 1st July 2003 in the case of an unregistered person who does not make an application in accordance with sub paragraph (a).

(3) This paragraph applies where —

(a) the National Assembly applies to a justice of the peace for an order that section 11(1), (5) and (6) of the 2000 Act is to apply to an unregistered person and that paragraph (2) of this regulation should cease to apply to that unregistered person; and

(b) it appears to the justice that, unless the order is made, there will be a serious risk to a person’s life, health or well-being.

(4) Where paragraph (3) applies—

(a) the justice may make the order referred to in that paragraph;

(b) section 11 of the 2000 Act will apply to the unregistered person, and paragraph (2) of this regulation is to cease to apply to the unregistered person, from the time when the order is made.

(5) Section 20(2), (4) and (5) of the 2000 Act will apply to any application made to a justice under paragraph (3), and to any order made under paragraph (4), as if the application or order (as the case may be) were made under section 20(1) of the 2000 Act and applied to the unregistered person.

(6) This paragraph applies to a fostering agency falling within section 4(4)(b) of the 2000 Act (a voluntary organisation which places children with foster parents under section 59(1) of the 1989 Act) which is in existence immediately prior to the coming into force of these Regulations.

(7) These Regulations are to apply to a fostering agency to which paragraph (6) applies, as if any reference in them to a registered person is a reference to the person who carries on the agency(4) —

(a) if an application for registration is duly made before 1st July 2003 under Part II of the 2000 Act, until such time as the application for registration is granted, either unconditionally or subject only to conditions which have been agreed in writing between that person and the National Assembly; or

(b) if an application duly made in accordance with sub paragraph (a) is granted subject to conditions which have not been so agreed, or if it is refused—

(i) if no appeal is brought, until the expiration of the period of 28 days after service on that person of notice of the National Assembly’s decision; or

(ii) if an appeal is brought, until it is determined or abandoned; or

(c) until 1st July 2003, if an application is not duly made in accordance with sub paragraph (a).

(8) This paragraph applies to an independent fostering agency which is carried on by a voluntary organisation, which is in existence immediately before the coming into force of these Regulations.

(9) Where a local authority looking after a child is satisfied that the child should be placed with foster parents, they may make arrangements, subject to paragraph (10), for the duties imposed on them by regulations 34, 35, 36(1) and 37 to be discharged on their behalf by the voluntary organisation to which paragraph (8) applies (“an unregistered independent voluntary provider”)—

(a) if an application for registration is duly made before 1st July 2003 under Part II of the 2000 Act, until such time as the application for registration is granted, either unconditionally or subject only to conditions which have been agreed in writing between that provider and the National Assembly; or

(b) if an application duly made in accordance with sub paragraph (a) is granted subject to conditions which have not been so agreed, or if it is refused—

(i) if no appeal is brought, until the expiration of the period of 28 days after service on that provider of notice of the National Assembly’s decision; or

(ii) if an appeal is brought, until it is determined or abandoned; or

(c) until 1st July 2003, if an application is not duly made in accordance with sub paragraph (a).

(10) A local authority may not make arrangements under paragraph (9) unless they—

(a) are satisfied —

(i) as to the capacity of the unregistered independent voluntary provider to discharge duties on their behalf; and

(ii) that those arrangements are the most suitable way for those duties to be discharged; and

(b) enter into a written agreement with the unregistered independent voluntary provider about the arrangements, providing for consultation and exchange of information and reports between the local authority and the unregistered independent voluntary provider.

(11) Regulation 20(5) is not to apply to any person to whom it would, apart from this regulation apply, if the person is on 1st April 2003 already employed by a fostering service provider in a position to which paragraph (6) of that regulation applies.”

Signed on behalf of the National Assembly for Wales under section 66(1) of the Government of Wales Act 1998(5).

D. Elis-Thomas

The Presiding Officer of the National Assembly

26th March 2003

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend the Fostering Services (Wales) Regulations 2003 so as to substitute the provisions of regulation 52 which makes transitional provision. Under the substituted provisions:

Regulation 52(1) — (5) make provision for persons who continue to carry on or manage a pre existing fostering agency as long as applications for registration in respect of that agency are made by 1st July 2003.

These Regulations apply to local authority fostering services on their coming into force. By regulation 52(6) and (7) they will also apply to a pre existing voluntary organisation which continues to place children with foster parents under section 59 of the Children Act 1989 and which duly makes an application for registration by 1st July 2003. These Regulations do not apply to an independent fostering agency until it is registered, but sub-paragraphs (8) to (10) of this regulation allow a local authority to delegate certain duties to a pre-existing independent fostering agency which is carried on by a voluntary organisation and which duly makes an application for registration by 1st July 2003. Regulation 52(11) disapplies regulation 20(5) (which limits the circumstances in which a person who is approved as a foster parent by a fostering service may also be employed to work for the purposes of the service), in certain cases.

(1)

2000 c. 14. The powers are exercisable by the appropriate Minister. The “appropriate Minister” is defined in S. section 121(1). It means the National Assembly for Wales, in relation to Wales, it means the Secretary of State in relation to England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

(2)

1989 c. 41.

(3)

S.I. 2003/237 (W.35)

(4)

See Section 121(4) of the Care Standards Act

(5)

1998 c. 38.