PART 5COUNSELLING
Information about the availability of counselling14
1
An adoption agency must provide written information about the availability of counselling to any person —
a
who is seeking information under sections 60, 61 or 62 of the Act;
b
whose views have been sought as to the disclosure of information about him or her under section 61(3) or 62(3) or (4) of the Act;
c
who enters, or is considering entering, into an agreement with the agency under regulation 10.
2
The information provided under paragraph (1) must include information about the fees that may be charged by persons providing counselling.
Duty to secure counselling15
1
Where a person mentioned in regulation 14(1) requests that counselling be provided for him or her, the adoption agency must make arrangements to secure counselling for that person.
2
The agency may provide the counselling itself or make arrangements with any of the following persons for the provision of counselling—
a
if the person is in Wales or England, another adoption agency or a registered adoption support agency;
b
if the person is in Scotland, a Scottish adoption agency;
c
if the person is in Northern Ireland, an adoption society which is registered under Article 4 of the Adoption (Northern Ireland) Order 198716 or from any Board; or
d
if the person is outside the United Kingdom, any person or body outside the United Kingdom who appears to the agency to correspond in its functions to a body mentioned in paragraphs (a) to (c).
3
In this regulation —
“Board” means a Health and Social Services Board established under Article 16 of the Health and Personal Social Services (Northern Ireland) Order 197217 or where the functions of a Board are exercisable by a Health and Social Services Trust, that Trust;
“registered adoption support agency” means an adoption support agency in respect of which a person is registered under Part 2 of the Care Standards Act 2000.
Disclosure of information for the purposes of counselling16
1
An adoption agency may disclose information (including protected information), which is required for the purposes of providing counselling to any person with whom it has made arrangements to provide counselling.
2
An adoption agency must make a written record of any disclosure made by virtue of this regulation.