{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/childrens-homes-regulations-northern-ireland-1996/regulation-7",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/childrens-homes-regulations-northern-ireland-1996/regulation-7.json",
  "legislation": "nisr/1996/479",
  "legislation_title": "The Children’s Homes Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/childrens-homes-regulations-northern-ireland-1996",
  "path": "regulation/7",
  "kind": "regulation",
  "number": "7",
  "heading": "Accommodation — general provisions",
  "text": "(1) The responsible authority shall ensure that there is provided within a children’s home for the use of children accommodated there—\n(a) a sufficient number of wash basins, baths and showers supplied with hot and cold running water; and\n(b) a sufficient number of lavatories,\nfor the number of children accommodated.\n(2) The responsible authority shall ensure that all parts of the home used by children accommodated there are—\n(a) adequately lit, heated and ventilated; and\n(b) kept in good structural repair, clean and reasonably decorated and maintained for the purpose of accommodating children.\n(3) Subject to paragraph (4), the responsible authority shall ensure that there are provided within the children’s home suitable facilities for any child accommodated there to meet privately—\n(a) his parents;\n(b) any person who is not a parent of his but who has parental responsibility for him;\n(c) his relatives or friends;\n(d) his solicitor;\n(e) his guardian ad litem;\n(f) any independent person appointed in respect of any requirement of the procedure specified in the Representations Procedure (Children) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996;\n(g) any visitor appointed for the child in accordance with Article 31 of the Order;\n(h) any person authorised in accordance with Article 149(2) of the Order by the Department to conduct an inspection of the children’s home and the children there; and\n(i) in the case of a voluntary home or registered children’s home any person authorised by the registration authority.\n(4) In the case of a voluntary home or a registered children’s home in respect of which a certificate under Article 70 of the Order is in force, the facilities for meeting privately the persons listed in paragraph (3) may be at a different address.\n(5) The responsible authority shall ensure that there are provided in a children’s home adequate facilities for laundering linen and clothing used by children accommodated there, and, for children wishing to do so, to wash, dry and iron their own clothes.\n(6) The responsible authority shall ensure that a telephone is available for children accommodated in a children’s home in a setting where it is possible to make and receive telephone calls in private.\n(7) The responsible authority shall ensure that any part of a home provided under Part VII of the Order used for the purposes of secure accommodation (within the meaning of Article 44 of the Order), is separate from the rest of the home.",
  "extent": null,
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [
    {
      "type": "footnote",
      "label": "f1",
      "text": "S.R. 1996 No. 451"
    }
  ],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/nisr/1996/479/regulation/7",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-29T02:33:03.530010+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."
}