Section 26 Manner of provision of accommodation to child looked after by local authority.E1

United Kingdom

(1)

A local authority may provide accommodation for a child looked after by them by—

(a)

placing him with—

(i)

a family (other than such family as is mentioned in paragraph (a) or (b) of the definition of that expression in section 93(1) of this Act);

(ii)

a relative of his; or

(iii)

any other suitable person

F1. . . ;

(b)

maintaining him in a residential establishment; or

(c)

making such other arrangements as appear to them to be appropriate, including (without prejudice to the generality of this paragraph) making use of such services as are referred to in section 17(1)(b) of this Act.

(2)

A local authority may arrange for a child whom they are looking after—

(a)

to be placed, under subsection (1)(a) above, with a person in England and Wales or in Northern Ireland; or

(b)

to be maintained in any accommodation in which—

(i)

~~F2a local authority in England and Wales could maintain him by virtue of section 23(2)(b) to (e) of the~~ M1~~Children Act 1989; or~~

a local authority in England and Wales could place the child in a placement falling within section 22C(6)(c) of the Children Act 1989;

(ii)

an authority within the meaning of the M2Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1995 could maintain him by virtue of F3Article 27(2)(aa) of that Order.

Annotations

Textual amendments

F1: Words in s. 26(1)(a) repealed (28.9.2009) by Adoption and Children (Scotland) Act 2007 (asp 4), ss. 120(2), 121(2), Sch. 3; S.S.I. 2009/267, arts. 1(2), 2 (with arts. 3-21)
F2: S. 26(2)(b)(i) substituted (1.4.2011 for E.) by Children and Young Persons Act 2008 (c. 23), s. 44(4), Sch. 1 para. 9; S.I. 2010/2981, art. 4(a)
F3: Words in s. 26(2)(b)(ii) substituted (N.I.) (1.11.2024) by Adoption and Children Act (Northern Ireland) 2022 (c. 18), s. 160(1), Sch. 3 para. 45; S.R. 2024/186, art. 2(b)(i)

Marginal citations

M1: 1989 c.41.
M2: S.I. 1995/755 (N.I.2)

Extent

E1: S. 26(1) extends to Scotland only; s. 26(2) extends also to England, Wales and Northern Ireland; see s. 105(1) and (8)

Notes on Chapter 1

Modifications

C1: Pt. II Ch. 1 (ss. 16-38) modifed (1.4.1997) by S.I. 1996/3255, reg. 7(1)