Section 10 - Provision of services
45.Subsection (1) provides that on the request of a person mentioned in section 1(3) a local authority must provide adoption services of a type listed in section 1(4)(d) to that person, namely information about adoption. Subsection (2)(a) provides that on the request of a person mentioned in section 1(3)(a), (c) or (g) (children who may be adopted, parents and guardians of such children and persons who may adopt a child) a local authority must provide adoption services of a type mentioned in section 1(4)(a), (b) or (c) to that person, namely arrangements for assessing children who may be adopted, arrangements for assessing prospective adopters and arrangements for placing children for adoption. Subsection (2)(b) allows a local authority also to provide adoption support services to such a person.
46.By virtue of subsection (3), services can be provided under subsection (2) whether or not an assessment of needs has been carried out. This will allow an authority to provide counselling at the same time as making the assessments or arrangements mentioned above without first undertaking an assessment of needs.
47.By virtue of subsection (4)(a), where a local authority has decided under section 9(2) that the provision of adoption support services is required following an assessment of needs carried out for a person listed in section 1(3)(a) to (i), the authority must provide the service to that person; subsection (4)(b) provides that where an assessment of needs reveals that a service is called for in respect of a person mentioned in section 1(3)(j) (any other person affected), the authority has discretion whether to provide the service to that person.
