OpenLegislation

Section 42 Right of officer of the Service to have access to local authority recordsF11I1

England and Wales

(1)

Where F1an officer of the ServiceF2or Welsh family proceedings officer has been appointed F3under section 41 he shall have the right at all reasonable times to examine and take copies of—

(a)

any records of, or held by, a local authority F4or an authorised personwhich were compiled in connection with the making, or proposed making, by any person of any application under this Act with respect to the child concerned; F5. . .

(b)

any . . . records of, or held by, a local authority which were compiled in connection with any functions which F6are social services functions within the meaning of the M1Local Authority Social Services Act 1970 F7or for the purposes of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014, so far as those records relate to that child.

F8; or

(c)

any records of, or held by, an authorised person which were compiled in connection with the activities of that person, so far as those records relate to that child.

(2)

Where F9an officer of the Serviceor Welsh family proceedings officer takes a copy of any record which he is entitled to examine under this section, that copy or any part of it shall be admissible as evidence of any matter referred to in any—

(a)

report which he makes to the court in the proceedings in question; or

(b)

evidence which he gives in those proceedings.

(3)

Subsection (2) has effect regardless of any enactment or rule of law which would otherwise prevent the record in question being admissible in evidence.

F10(4)

In this section “ authorised person ” has the same meaning as in section 31.

Annotations

Textual amendments

F1

Words in s. 42(1) substituted (1.4.2001) by 2000 c. 43, s. 74, 80, Sch. 7 Pt. II para. 92(a)(i); S.I. 2001/919, art. 2(f)(ii)

F2

Words in s. 42(1)(2) inserted (1.4.2005) by Children Act 2004 (c. 31), s. 40, Sch. 3 para. 10; S.I. 2005/700, art. 2(2)

F3

Words in s. 42(1) substituted (1.4.2001) by 2000 c. 43, s. 74, Sch. 7 Pt. II para. 92(a)(ii); S.I. 2001/919, art. 2(f)(ii)

F4

Words in s. 42(1)(a) inserted (14.10.1991) by Courts and Legal Services Act 1990 (c. 41, SIF 76:1), s. 116, Sch. 16 para. 18(2); S.I. 1991/1883, art. 3, Sch.

F5

Words in s. 42(1) repealed (14.10.1991) by Courts and Legal Services Act 1990 (c. 41, SIF 76:1), s. 125(7), Sch. 20; S.I. 1991/1883, art. 3, Sch.

F6

Words in s. 42(1)(b) substituted (26.10.2000 for E. and otherwise 28.7.2001) by 2000 c. 22, ss. 107, 108(4), Sch. 5 para. 20; S.I. 2000/2849, art. 2(f)

F7

Words in s. 42(1)(b) inserted (6.4.2016) by The Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 (Consequential Amendments) Regulations 2016 (S.I. 2016/413), regs. 2(1), 99

F8

S. 42(1)(c) added (14.10.1991) by Courts and Legal Services Act 1990 (c. 41, SIF 76:1), ss. 116, Sch. 16 para. 18(3); S.I. 1991/1883, art. 3, Sch.

F9

Words in s. 42(2) substituted (1.4.2001) by 2000 c. 43, s. 74, Sch. 7 Pt. II para. 92(b); S.I. 2001/919, art. 2(f)(ii)

F10

S. 42(4) added (14.10.1991) by Courts and Legal Services Act 1990 (c. 41, SIF 76:1), s. 116, Sch. 16 para. 18(4); S.I. 1991/1883, art. 3, Sch.

F11

S. 42 sidenote substituted (1.4.2001) by 2000 c. 43, s. 74, Sch.7 Pt. II para. 92(c); S.I. 2001/919, art. 2(f)(ii)

Marginal citations

M1

1970 c. 42.

Commencement

I1

S. 42 in force at 14.10.1991 see s. 108(2)(3) and S.I. 1991/828, art. 3(2)