{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/children-act-1975/section-56",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/children-act-1975/section-56.json",
  "legislation": "ukpga/1975/72",
  "legislation_title": "Children Act 1975",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/children-act-1975",
  "path": "section/56",
  "kind": "section",
  "number": "56",
  "heading": "Restriction on removal of child from care.",
  "text": "(1) In section 1 of the Children Act 1948, the following subsections are inserted after subsection (3)—\n“(3A) Except in relation to an act done—\n(a) with the consent of the local authority, or\n(b) by a parent or guardian of the child who has given the local authority not less than 28 days’ notice of his intention to do it,\nsubsection (8) (penalty for taking away a child in care) of section 3 of this Act shall apply to a child in the care of a local authority under this section (notwithstanding that no resolution is in force under section 2 of this Act with respect to the child) if he has been in the care of that local authority throughout the preceding six months; and for the purposes of the application of paragraph (b) of that subsection in such a case a parent or guardian of the child shall not be taken to have lawful authority to take him away.\n(3B) The Secretary of State may by order a draft of which has been approved by each House of Parliament amend subsection (3A) of this section by substituting a different period for the period of 28 days or of six months mentioned in that subsection (or the period which, by a previous order under this subsection, was substituted for that period).”\n(2) The following section is inserted after section 33 of the Children Act 1948—\n“ Restriction on removal of a child from care of voluntary organisation.\n33A (1) Section 3(8) of this Act shall apply in relation to children who are not in the care of local authorities under section 1 of this Act but who are in voluntary homes or are boarded out, as it applies by virtue of subsection (3A) of the said section 1 to children in the care of the local authority, except that in the case of a child who is not in the care of a local authority the references in subsection (3A) to a local authority shall be construed as references to the voluntary organisation in whose care the child is.\n(2) For the purposes of this section—\n(a) a child is boarded out if he is boarded out, by the voluntary organisation in whose care he is, with foster parents to live in their home as a member of their family;\n(b) “voluntary home” includes a controlled community home and an assisted community home.”.",
  "extent": "S",
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F1",
      "text": "Ss. 56–59 repealed (E.W.) by Child Care Act 1980 (c. 5, SIF 20), s. 89, Sch. 6"
    },
    {
      "type": "C",
      "label": "C1",
      "text": "The text of ss. 56–59, 72 and 93 is in the form in which it was originally enacted: it was not reproduced in Statutes in Force and, except as specified, does not reflect any amendments or repeals which may have been made prior to 1.2.1991."
    }
  ],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1975/72/section/56",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-29T10:35:55.776840+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."
}