Child Care Act 1980 (repealed 14.10.1991) in Scotland

Where it appears to a local authority with respect to a child in their area appearing to them to be under the age of seventeen—

it shall be the duty of the local authority to receive the child into their care under this section.

Where a local authority have received a child into their care under this section, it shall, subject to the provisions of this Part of this Act, be their duty to keep the child in their care so long as the welfare of the child appears to them to require it and the child has not attained the age of eighteen.

Nothing in this section shall authorise a local authority to keep a child in their care under this section if any parent or guardian desires to take over the care of the child, and the local authority shall, in all cases where it appears to them consistent with the welfare of the child so to do, endeavour to secure that the care of the child is taken over either—

Where a local authority receive into their care under this section a child who is then ordinarily resident in the area of another local authority—

Any question arising under this subsection as to the ordinary residence of a child shall be determined by the Secretary of State and in this subsection any reference to another local authority includes a reference to a local authority within the meaning of the M1Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968.

In determining for the purposes of subsection (4) above the ordinary residence of any child, any period during which he resides in any place—

shall be disregarded.

Any reference in this section to the parents or guardian of a child shall be construed as a reference to all the persons who are parents of the child or who are guardians of the child.

If any child—

is absent from the premises at which he is required by the local authority to live at a time when he is not permitted by the local authority to be absent from the premises, he may be arrested by a constable anywhere in the United Kingdom or the Channel Islands without a warrant and shall if so arrested be conducted, at the expense of the authority, to those premises or such other premises as the authority may direct.

If a magistratres’ court is satisfied by information on oath that there are reasonable grounds for believing that a person specified in the information can produce a child who is absent as mentioned in subsection (1) above, the court may issue a summons directed to the person so specified and requiring him to attend and produce the absent child before the court; and a person who without reasonable excuse fails to comply with any such requirement shall, without prejudice to any liability apart from this subsection, be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £100.

Without prejudice to its powers under subsection (2) above a magistrates’ court may, if it is satisfied by information on oath that there are reasonable grounds for believing that a child who is absent as mentioned in subsection (1) above is in premises specified in the information, issue a search warrant authorising a constable to search the premises for that child.

A person who knowingly compels, persuades, incites or assists a child to become or continue to be absent as mentioned in subsection (1) above shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to a fine not exceeding £400 or to both.

The reference to a constable in subsections (1) and (3) above includes a reference to a person who is a constable under the law of any part of the United Kingdom, to a member of the police in Jersey and to an officer of police within the meaning of section 43 of the Larceny (Guernsey) Law 1958 or any corresponding law for the time being in force.

In the application of subsections (2) and (3) above to Northern Ireland, “magistrates’ court” means a magistrates’ court within the meaning of the M2Magistrates’ Courts Act (Northern Ireland) 1964.

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires—

• “arrears order” has the meaning assigned to it by section 51 of this Act;

• “care order” has the meaning assigned to it by section 20 of the M1Children and Young Persons Act 1969;

• “child” means a person under the age of eighteen years and any person who has attained that age and is the subject of a care order;

• “commission area” has the same meaning as in section 1 of the Justices of the M2Peace Act 1979;

• “compulsory school age” has the same meaning as in the M3Education Act 1944;

• “contribution order” has the meaning assigned to it by section 47 of this Act;

• “functions” includes powers and duties;

• “guardian” means a person appointed by deed or will or by order of a court of competent jurisdiction to be the guardian of a child;

• “hospital” has the meaning assigned to it by section 128(1) of the M4National Health Service Act 1977;

• “instrument of management” means an instrument of management made under section 35 of this Act;

• “interim order”, in relation to a care order, has the meaning assigned to it by section 20 of the M5Children and Young Persons Act 1969;

• “local authority” means the council of a county (other than a metropolitan county), of a metropolitan district or of a London borough or the Common Council of the City of London;

• “local education authority” means a local education authority for the purpose of the M6Education Act 1944;

• “parent”, in relation to a child who is illegitimate, means his mother, to the exclusion of his father;

• “planning area” had the meaning assigned to it by section 31(1) of this Act;

• “regional plan” has the meaning assigned to it by section 32(1) of this Act;

• “relative”, in relation to a child, means a grand-parent, brother, sister uncle or aunt, whether of the full blood, of the half blood, or by affinity, and includes, where the child is illegitimate, the father of the child and any person who would be a relative of the child within the meaning of this definition if the child were the legitimate child of his mother and father;

• “the relevant authorities”, in relation to a planning area, has the meaning assigned to it by section 31(3) of this Act;

• “supervision requirement” has the same meaning as in the M7Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968;

• “trust deed” has the meaning assigned to it by section 36 of this Act:

• “voluntary home” has the meaning assigned to it by section 56 of this Act;

• “voluntary organisation” means a body the activities of which are carried on otherwise than for profit, but does not include any public or local authority.

Any reference in this Act to an enactment of the Parliament of Northern Ireland shall be construed as a reference to that enactment as amended by any Act of that Parliament or by any Measure of the Northern Ireland Assembly, whether passed before or after this Act, and to any enactment of that Parliament or Assembly for the time being in force which re-enacts the said enactment with or without modifications.

This Act shall have effect subject to the transitional provisions and savings set out in Schedule 4 to this Act.

The enactments specified in Schedule 5 to this Act shall have effect subject to the amendments specified in that Schedule, being amendments consequential on the provisions of this Act.

The enactments specified in Schedule 6 to this Act are repealed to the extent specified in the third column of that Schedule.

The inclusion in this Act of any express saving or amendment shall not be taken as prejudicing the operation of section 16 or 17 of the M1Interpretation Act 1978 (which relate to the effect of repeals).

Subject to the provisions of subsections (2), (3) and (4) below, this Act shall come into force on such date as the Secretary of State may by order appoint.

If, on the date appointed under subsection (1) above, the provision of section 58 of the M1Children Act 1975 which provides for the insertion into the M2Children Act 1948 of section 4B (guardians ad litem and reports in care proceedings) is not in force, then section 7 of this Act (and the repeal by this Act of section 58 of the Act of 1975 and section 4B of the Act of 1948) shall not come into force until the date appointed under section 108(2) of the Act of 1975 for the coming into force of that provision.

If, on the date appointed under subsection (1) above, paragraph 71(b) of Schedule 3 to the Children Act 1975 is not in force, then section 20 of this Act (and the repeal by this Act of the said paragraph 71 and section 27(4) of the Children and Young Persons Act 1969) shall not come into force until the date appointed under section 108(2) of the Act of 1975 for the coming into force of that paragraph; and, until that paragraph is in force, section 20 of this Act shall have effect as if in subsection (1) of that section for the words from “to review the case” to the end of the section there were substituted the words— “ who have at any time had a child in their care throughout the preceding six months and have not during that period held a review of his case in pursuance of this section to review his case as soon as is practicable after the expiration of that period and, if a care order is in force with respect to him, to consider in the course of the review whether to make an application for the discharge of the order ”.

If, on the date appointed under subsection (1) above, sections 60 to 63 of the Children Act 1975 (which relate to the transfer of parental rights and duties to voluntary organisations) are not in force, then sections 64 to 67 of this Act (and the repeal by this Act of the said sections 60 to 63) shall not come into force until the date appointed under section 108(2) of the Act of 1975 for the coming into force of those sections.

This Act may be cited as the Child Care Act 1980.

Except for the following provisions, that is to say—

this Act does not extend to Scotland.

Except for the following provisions, that is to say—

this Act does not extend to Northern Ireland.

Section 16(1) and (5) of this Act and this section extend to the Channel Islands.

It is hereby declared that the provisions of section 87 of this Act extend to each of the countries aforesaid so far as appropriate for the purposes of any other provision of this Act which extends to the country in question.

in subsection (3)(a)(ii) for the words “section 1 of the Children Act 1948” there shall be substituted the words “ section 2 of the Child Care Act 1980 ” ;

in subsection (6) for the words “section 1 of the Children Act 1948” there shall be substituted the words “ section 2 of the Child Care Act 1980 ”.

for sub-paragraph (i) there shall be substituted the following paragraph—

“(i)

section 10 of the Child Care Act 1980 (which relates to the powers and duties of local authorities with respect to persons committed to their care under the Children and Young Persons Act 1969) ;” ;

for sub-paragraph (iii) there shall be substituted the following paragraph—

“(iii)

section 3 of the Child Care Act 1980 (which relates to the assumption by a local authority of parental rights and duties in relation to a child in their care) ;”.

in sub-paragraph (ii) for the words “section 24 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1969” there shall be substituted the words “ section 10 of the Child Care Act 1980 ” ;

for sub-paragraph (iii) there shall be substituted the following paragraph—

“(iii)

section 3 of the Child Care Act 1980 (which relates to the assumption by a local authority of parental rights and duties in relation to a child in their care) ;”.

in paragraph (b) for the words “section 24 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1969” there shall be substituted the words “ section 10 of the Chld Care Act 1980 ” ;

in paragraph (d) for the words “Children Act 1948” there shall be substituted the words “ Child Care Act 1980 ” ;

for the words “subsection (2) of the said section 3” there shall be substituted the words “ subsection (1) of the said section 3 ”.