{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/adoption-and-children-act-register-search-and-inspection-regulations-2017/note",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/adoption-and-children-act-register-search-and-inspection-regulations-2017/note.json",
  "legislation": "uksi/2017/978",
  "legislation_title": "The Adoption and Children Act Register (Search and Inspection) Regulations 2017",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/adoption-and-children-act-register-search-and-inspection-regulations-2017",
  "path": "note",
  "kind": "note",
  "number": null,
  "heading": "Explanatory note",
  "text": "(This note is not part of the Regulations)\nThese Regulations make provision for the search and inspection of the Adoption and Children Act Register (“the register”) by prospective adopters that an adoption agency is satisfied are suitable to adopt a child. Adoption agencies decide whether prospective adopters are suitable to adopt a child in accordance with Part 4 of the Adoption Agency Regulations 2005 (S.I. 2005/389).\nRegulation 3 provides that, where the Secretary of State has made arrangements with an organisation to perform the Secretary of State’s functions to establish and/or maintain the register, and disclose information from the register, references to the Secretary of State in regulations 4 and 5 must be read as references to that organisation.\nRegulation 4 provides for the search and inspection of the register by a prospective adopter (“P”) who has undertaken to comply with provisions relating to the protection of information received as a result of searching or inspecting the register and who has not previously breached those provisions. In all circumstances, P may search and inspect the information specified in regulation 4(5) that is held in part Part 1 of the register (regulation 4(2)). Part 1 of the register contains information about children who an adoption agency is satisfied are suitable for adoption. Where P is willing to have a child for whom a local authority is considering adoption placed with them, and the appropriate written confirmation is provided, P may search and inspect the information specified in regulation 4(5) that is held in Part 2 of the register (regulation 4(3)). Part 2 of the register contains information about children for whom a local authority in England is considering adoption.\nRegulation 5 prescribes the steps to be taken by P in respect of information received as a result of searching or inspecting the register.\nRegulation 6 revokes the Adoption and Children Act Register (Search and Inspection) (Pilot) Regulations 2014 (S.I. 2014/1957) which made provision to pilot the search and inspection of the register by prospective adopters approved by a limited number of adoption agencies.\nA full impact assessment has not been produced for this instrument as no, or no significant, impact on the private, voluntary or public sectors is foreseen.",
  "extent": "E+W",
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2017/978/note",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-28T23:07:35.547038+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}