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Adoption and Children (Scotland) Act 2007

  • Explanatory Notes Table of contents

Please note:

All reference to 'Parts' and 'sections' are from the Adoption and Children (Scotland) Act 2007. For other versions of these Explanatory Notes, see More Resources.

  1. Introduction

  2. The Act

    1. Part 1 – Adoption

    2. Part 2 – Permanence Orders

    3. Part 3 – Miscellaneous

    4. Part 4 – General

  3. Commentary on Sections

    1. Chapter 1

      The Adoption Service

      1. Section 1 - Duty of local authority to provide adoption service

      2. Section 2 - Carrying out of duties imposed by section 1

      3. Section 4 - Local authority plans

      4. Section 5 - Guidance

      5. Section 6 - Assistance in carrying out functions under sections 1 and 4

      6. Section 7 - Meaning of “adoption service” in Regulation of Care (Scotland) Act 2001

      7. Section 8 - Adoption agencies: regulations about carrying out of functions

      8. Section 9 - Assessment of needs for adoption support services

      9. Section 10 - Provision of services

      10. Section 11 - Urgent provision

      11. Section 12 - Power to provide payment to person entitled to adoption support service

      12. Section 13 ­- Regulations

    2. Chapter 2

      The Adoption Process

      1. Section 14 - Considerations applying to the exercise of powers

      2. Section 15 - Child to live with adopters before adoption order made

      3. Section 16 - Home visits

      4. Section 17 - Reports where child placed by agency

      5. Section 18 - Notification to local authority of adoption application

      6. Section 19 - Notice under section 18: local authority’s duties

      7. Section 20 - Restrictions on removal: child placed for adoption with consent

      8. Section 21 - Restrictions on removal: notice of intention to adopt given

      9. Section 22 - Restrictions on removal: application for adoption order pending

      10. Section 23 - Restrictions on removal of child looked after by local authority

      11. Section 24 - Return of child removed in breach of certain provisions

      12. Section 25 - Return of child placed for adoption by adoption agency

      13. Section 26 - Looked after children: adoption not proceeding

      14. Section 27 - Contravention of sections 30 to 36 of the 2002 Act

      15. Section 28 - Adoption orders

      16. Section 29 - Adoption by certain couples

      17. Section 30 - Adoption by one person

      18. Section 31 - Parental etc. consent

      19. Section 32 - Consent of child aged 12 or over

      20. Section 33 - Restrictions on making orders

      21. Section 34 - Contravention of section 72 no bar to making order

      22. .

      23. Section 36 - Revocation of supervision requirement

      24. Section 37 - Information to be kept about adoptions

      25. Section 38 - Disclosure of information kept under relevant enactment

    3. Chapter 3

      Status of Adopted Children

      1. Section 39 - Meaning of “adoption” in Chapter 3

      2. Section 40 - Status conferred by adoption

      3. Section 41 - Miscellaneous enactments

      4. Section 42 - Pensions

      5. Section 43 - Insurance

      6. Section 44 - Succession and inter vivos deeds

    4. Chapter 4

      Adoption Support Plans

      1. Section 45 - Adoption support plans

      2. Section 46 - Duration

      3. Section 47 - Family member’s right to require review of plan

      4. Section 48 - Other cases where authority under duty to review plan

      5. Section 49 - Reassessment of needs for adoption support services

      6. Section 50 - Implementation of plans: directions

      7. (a) Section 51 - Guidance

      8. Section 52 - Regulations about reviews of adoption support plans

    5. Chapter 5

      Registration

      1. Section 53 - Adopted Children Register and index

      2. Section 54 - Searches and extracts

      3. Section 55 - Connections between the register and birth records

      4. Section 56 - Admissibility of extracts as evidence

      5. Section 57 - Interpretation of Chapter

    6. Chapter 6

      Adoptions With a Foreign Element

      1. Section 58 - Restriction on bringing children into the United Kingdom

      2. Section 59 - Preliminary order where child to be adopted abroad

      3. Section 60 - Restriction on removal of children for adoption outwith Great Britain

      4. Section 61 - Regulations under section 58: offences

      5. Section 62 - Declaration of special restrictions on adoptions from abroad

      6. Section 63 - Review

      7. Section 64 - The special restrictions

      8. Section 65 - Imposition of extra conditions in certain cases

      9. Section 66 - Power to charge

      10. Section 67 - Meaning of “overseas adoption”

      11. Section 68 - Annulment and recognition

      12. Section 69 - Section 68: supplementary provision

      13. Section 70 - Effect of determinations and orders made outwith Scotland

    7. Chapter 7

      Miscellaneous

      1. Section 71 - Adoption allowances schemes

      2. Section 72 - Prohibition of certain payments

      3. Section 73 - Excepted payments

      4. Section 74 - Disclosure of medical information about parents of child

      5. Section 75 - Restriction on arranging adoptions and placing children

      6. Section 76 - Adoption societies which are not registered adoption services

      7. Section 77 - Effect of certain orders made in England and Wales

      8. Section 78 - Effect of placing for adoption etc. under 2002 Act

      9. Section 79 - Further consequences of placement and placement orders

    8. Part 2

      Permanence Orders

      1. Section 80 - Permanence orders

      2. Section 81 - Permanence orders: mandatory provision

      3. Section 82 - Permanence orders: ancillary provisions

      4. Section 83 - Order granting authority for adoption: conditions

      5. Section 84 - Conditions and considerations applicable to making of order

      6. Section 85 - Child in respect of whom order may be made

      7. Section 86 - Representations

      8. Section 87 - Effect of order on existing parental right

      9. Section 88 - Effect of order on existing orders

      10. Section 89 - Revocation of supervision requirement

      11. Section 90 - Precedence of court orders and supervision requirements over order

      12. Section 91 - Exercise of parental right under order

      13. Section 92 - Variation of ancillary provisions in order

      14. Section 93 - Amendment of order to grant authority for child to be adopted

      15. Section 94 - Proceedings

      16. Section 95 - Duty of children’s hearing to prepare report for court

      17. Section 96 - Application: effect on supervision requirement

      18. Section 97 - Interim orders and revocation of supervision requirement

      19. Section 98 - Revocation

      20. Section 99 - Duty of local authority to apply for variation or revocation

      21. Section 100 - Revocation: order under section 11 of 1995 Act

      22. Section 101 - Local authority to give notice of certain matters

      23. Section 102 - Effect of subsequent adoption order on permanence order

      24. Section 103 - Restriction on making of orders under section 11 of 1995 Act

      25. Section 104 - Permanence orders: rules of procedure

    9. Part 3

      Miscellaneous

      1. Section 105 - Notification of proposed application for order

      2. Section 106 - Child subject to supervision requirement: duty to refer to Principal Reporter

      3. Section 107 - Making of adoption order no longer to be bar to making of contact order

      4. Section 108 - Rules: appointment of curators and reporting officers

      5. Section 109 - Proceedings to be in private

      6. Section 110 - Allowances for care of certain children: regulations

      7. Section 111 - Evidence of consent

      8. Section 113 - Admissibility of certain documents as evidence

    10. Part 4

      General

      1. Section 114 - Rules of procedure

      2. Section 115 - Offences by bodies corporate and partnerships

      3. Section 116 - Ancillary provisions

      4. Section 117 - Orders and regulations

      5. Section 118 - Meaning of “appropriate court”

      6. Section 119 - Interpretation

      7. Section 120 - Minor and consequential amendments and repeals

      8. Section 121 - Short title and commencement

      9. Schedule 1: Registration of adoptions

        1. Registration of adoption orders

        2. Registration of adoptions in England, Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands

        3. Registration of other adoptions

        4. Amendment of orders and rectification of registers

        5. Marking of entries on re-registration of birth

      10. (b) Schedule 2: Minor and consequential amendments

      11. Schedule 3: Repeals

  4. Parliamentary History

  • Explanatory Notes Table of contents

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Explanatory Notes

Text created by the Scottish Government to explain what the Act sets out to achieve and to make the Act accessible to readers who are not legally qualified. Explanatory Notes were introduced in 1999 and accompany all Acts of the Scottish Parliament except those which result from Budget Bills.

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