Section 11 Appointment of visitor for child subject to care order.

England and Wales

(1)

If a child who is subject to a care order and has attained the age of five is accommodated in a community home or other establishment which he has not been allowed to leave during the preceding three months for the purpose of ordinary attendance at an educational institution or at work and it appears to the local authority to whose care he is committed by the order that—

(a)

communication between him and his parent or guardian has been so infrequent that it is appropriate to appoint a visitor for him; or

(b)

he has not lived with or visited or been visited by either of his parents or his guardian during the preceding twelve months,

it shall be the duty of the authority to appoint an independent person to be his visitor for the purposes of this subsection; and a person so appointed shall—

(i)

have the duty of visiting, advising and befriending the child to whom the care order relates; and

(ii)

be entitled to exercise on behalf of that child his powers under section 21(2) of the M1Children and Young Persons Act 1969 (which relates to the discharge of care orders); and

(iii)

be entitled to recover from the authority who appointed him any expenses reasonably incurred by him for the purposes of his functions under this subsection.

(2)

A person’s appointment as a visitor in pursuance of subsection (1) above shall be determined if the care order in question ceases to be in force or he gives notice in writing to the authority who appointed him that he resigns the appointment or the authority give him notice in writing that they terminate it; but the determination of such an appointment shall not prejudice any duty under subsection (1) above to make a further appointment.

(3)

In this section “independent person” means a person satisfying such conditions as may be prescribed by regulations made by the Secretary of State with a view to securing that he is independent of the local authority in question and unconnected with any community home.

Annotations

Marginal citations

M1: 1969 c. 54.

Notes on the whole Act

Textual amendments

F1: Act repealed (14.10.1991) by Children Act 1989 (c. 41, SIF 20), s. 108(7), Sch.15 (with Sch. 14 paras. 1(1), 21(1), 27(4) 31, 36(3)(b) with saving for ss. 16(1) and 24 in Sch. 14 paras. 23 and 28); S.I. 1991/828, art. 3(2). (Certain provisions of this Act are expressed to be amended (1.10.1992) by Criminal Justice Act 1991 (c. 53), s. 100, Sch. 11 para. 40(2); S.I. 1992/333, art. 2(2), Sch. 2.