PART 2ADOPTION AGENCY — ARRANGEMENTS FOR ADOPTION WORK

F1Constituting the adoption panel4.

(1)

An adoption agency must constitute one or more adoption panels, as necessary, to perform the functions of an adoption panel under these Regulations and must appoint the panel members from the persons in the central list including—

(a)

a person to chair the panel, being an independent person, who has the skills and experience necessary for chairing an adoption panel, and

(b)

one or two persons who may act as chair if the person appointed to chair the panel is absent or that office is vacant (“the vice chairs”).

(2)

The adoption agency must ensure that an adoption panel has sufficient members, and that individual members have between them the experience and expertise necessary to effectively discharge the functions of the panel.

(3)

Any two or more adoption agencies may jointly constitute an adoption panel (“a joint adoption panel”) in which case the appointment of members must be by agreement between the agencies.

(4)

An adoption agency may pay to any member of an adoption panel constituted by it such fee as it may determine, being a fee of reasonable amount.

(5)

Any adoption panel member may resign at any time by giving one month’s notice in writing to the adoption panel agency which appointed them.

(6)

Where an adoption agency is of the opinion that any member of the adoption panel appointed by it is unsuitable or unable to continue as a panel member it may terminate that member’s appointment at any time by giving the member notice in writing with reasons.

(7)

In the case of a joint adoption panel, where an adoption agency is of the opinion that any member of an adoption panel appointed by it is unsuitable or unable to continue as a panel member, it may terminate that member’s appointment at any time by giving the member notice in writing of the reasons, if the adoption agencies who constituted the panel agree.

(8)

A person (“P”) is not an independent person for the purposes of this regulation and regulation 6 if—

(a)

in the case of a registered adoption society, P is a trustee or employee of that society, or

(b)

in the case of a local authority, P—

(i)

is an elected member of that authority, or

(ii)

is employed by that authority for the purposes of the adoption service or for the purposes of any of that local authority’s functions relating to the protection of children, or

(c)

P is the adoptive parent of a child who was—

(i)

placed for adoption with P by the adoption agency (“agency A”), or

(ii)

placed for adoption with P by another adoption agency where P had been approved as suitable to be an adoptive parent by agency A,

unless at least 12 months has elapsed since the adoption order was made in respect of the child.