# The Cross-border Placement of Children (Requirements, Effect and Enforcement) (Scotland) Regulations 2026, Note: Explanatory note


(This note is not part of the Regulations)
These Regulations make provision for certain orders made in England and Wales or Northern Ireland to be given effect to in Scotland as if they were compulsory supervision orders (“CSOs”) in certain circumstances and for certain purposes. They also provide lawful authority for a child from England, Wales or Northern Ireland to be accommodated in a residential care setting where they are subject to a voluntary arrangement (see regulation 2(1) for the definitions of “residential care setting” and “voluntary arrangement” respectively, and for the definition of other terms used in this Explanatory Note).
Part 1 of the Regulations contains citation, commencement and interpretation provisions. Regulation 2 defines terms for the purposes of the Regulations.
Part 2 of the Regulations deals with temporary placements of children from England, Wales and Northern Ireland into residential care settings in Scotland. Such placements may arise by virtue of the child being subject to a relevant order, a deprivation of liberty (“DOL”) order or a voluntary arrangement.
Regulation 3 makes provision in respect of children placed into residential care on a temporary basis who are subject to a relevant order or DOL order. For either type of order to be given effect to in Scotland as if it were a CSO for the purposes specified in regulation 3(3), regulation 5(1) must apply. That regulation refers to conditions which must be met for its application – namely, that the placing local authority must give a notice and undertaking (per regulation 8 and schedule 1 respectively) to the persons mentioned in regulation 7, and that ahead of the initial placement, an officer of the placing local authority must visit the residential care setting (or consult with its registered manager where the placement requires to be made in a case of urgent necessity), and undertake and record, in writing, an assessment of the suitability of the setting and the care home service provided there to meet the child’s needs. Further, the relevant care home service must be registered with Social Care and Social Work Improvement Scotland (otherwise known as “The Care Inspectorate”). In respect of a DOL order, an additional requirement (as set out in regulation 6(1)) must be satisfied for it to have effect as if it were a CSO under regulation 3(2), again for the purposes specified in regulation 3(3). That is that the court which granted the DOL order must review it at least once every three months.
Regulation 4 provides a legal basis in Scotland for the temporary placement of a child into a residential care setting where they are subject to a voluntary arrangement. As with children so placed who are subject to a relevant order, the conditions in regulation 5(1) must be met for the voluntary arrangement to have effect. The purposes for which such effect is given where those conditions are met are specified in regulation 4(3).
Part 3 of the Regulations makes provision for changes to the temporary placement of a child from England, Wales or Northern Ireland in a registered residential care setting in Scotland. Regulation 9 applies where a court in the relevant jurisdiction makes a change to the legal basis for the placement (as defined in regulation 9(2)) and gives a period of three working days during which a new relevant order or, as the case may be, a DOL order, is given effect to as if it were a CSO for the purposes mentioned in regulation 9(3). After that period, the relevant order or DOL order will only continue to have such effect if certain conditions – as specified in regulation 11(a) and (b) - are met. In respect of a DOL order, there is an additional condition for it to have continued legal effect in Scotland – namely, that the court which granted the order must review it at least once every three months.
Regulation 10 makes provision about routine moves of children by the placing local authority from one residential care setting to another.
Regulation 11 sets out requirements to be met by the placing local authority where there is a change to the legal basis for, or the location of, a child’s ongoing residential placement. Regulation 12 empowers the chief social work officer of the receiving local authority to transfer a child from one registered residential care setting to another where the order contains a requirement that the child reside at a specified residential care setting, and it is in the interests of the child or another child in the setting that the child be moved as a matter of urgent necessity.
Part 5 of the Regulations details placing local authority duties in the context of making a temporary placement of a child in a residential care setting. Regulation 13 sets out the placing local authority’s overarching duties during an authorised residential placement and regulation 14 requires that it investigate, from time to time, whether conditions or requirements in any order underpinning the placement, as recognised under the Regulations, are being complied with. If the placing local authority considers that they are not, it must take such steps as it considers reasonable.
Regulation 15 and 16 respectively set out mandatory requirements for visits to a child and reviews of their ongoing residential placement.
Regulation 17 specifies that certain persons can request an ongoing residential placement review and outlines how this must be responded to by the placing local authority.
Regulation 18 specifies circumstances in which an ongoing residential placement review must be undertaken by the placing local authority as soon as possible.
Part 6 contains regulation 19, which provides that the Scottish Ministers must, as soon as reasonably practicable, inform a child of the availability of children’s advocacy services in certain circumstances.
Part 7 makes provision in respect of the recognition of relevant orders where a child is temporarily placed from England, Wales or Northern Ireland with a foster carer in Scotland. Where regulation 21(1) applies, such orders are recognised as if they were CSOs for the purposes mentioned in regulation 20(2). Regulation 21(1) cross-refers to three conditions which must be met for its application. The first condition is that the placing fostering authority has given, in writing, a notice containing the information in regulation 23 to each person mentioned in regulation 22. The second condition is that, prior to the child’s placement, an officer of the placing fostering authority has: visited the address where it is proposed that the child will reside (or where the placement requires to be made in a case of urgent necessity, consulted with the fostering service manager and arranged for a visit to take place within five working days of the placement); assessed that the proposed accommodation and the foster carer are suitable to meet the child’s needs; and recorded the reasons for this assessment in writing. The third condition is that the placing fostering authority has entered into a written agreement with the foster carer regarding the matters and obligations in schedule 3 and any other matters or obligations it considers appropriate.
Part 8 of the Regulations makes provision about changes to the temporary placement of a child with a foster carer, where the child has been placed from England, Wales or Northern Ireland. Regulation 24 deals with scenarios where the court in the relevant jurisdiction revokes a relevant order and makes another relevant order, of the same or a different type. In such a case, the new relevant order is recognised as if it were a CSO for the purposes mentioned in regulation 24(3) for a period of three working days, beginning with the day on which that new order is made. Thereafter, regulation 26(1) must be complied with for the newly made relevant order to continue to have such effect.
Regulation 25 provides that, subject to the terms of any order having effect under an authorising fostering provision, a child temporarily placed with a foster carer may be moved to reside at a new address or with a new foster carer where certain conditions are met. Part 9 makes provision about changes to the type of placement that a child is subject to. This covers scenarios where a child is moved between a temporary placement in residential care to foster care and vice versa.
Regulation 27 makes provision for when a child subject to a relevant order having effect under regulation 20(1) or 24(1) is to be moved from a temporary placement in foster care to residential care. In other words, this regulation applies where the relevant order underpinning a child’s placement is to remain the same, but the setting is to change from foster to residential care. In this instance, the relevant order has effect as if it were a CSO for the purposes specified in regulation 27(5) (relating to residential care as opposed to fostering) where the conditions in regulation 27(2) to (4) are met. These mirror the requirements for an initial placement into a residential care setting (on which, see discussion of regulation 3 and 5(1) above), save for the fact that there is no additional requirement in respect of a DOL order. Such an order would not apply in the scenario that regulation 27 provides for.
Regulation 28 deals with cases where child is subject to a relevant order having effect under regulation 3(1), or as the case may be, regulation 9(1), and is to be moved from a temporary residential care placement to a fostering placement. As with regulation 27, this is a case of the order underpinning the child’s placement remaining the same, but the setting changing. In such a scenario, the conditions in regulation 28(2) to (4) must be met for the relevant order to have effect as if it were a CSO for the purposes in paragraph (5) (relating to fostering as opposed to residential care.) These mirror the requirements for a cross-border foster placement (on which, see discussion of regulation 21(1) above).
Regulation 29 deals with moves from a temporary placement in foster care to residential care where the change to the type of placement is underpinned by a new legal order made in the child’s home jurisdiction (be that a relevant order or a DOL order.) Provided that certain requirements are met before the child is placed into a residential care setting, the new legal order is recognised as if it were a CSO for the purposes in regulation 29(3) for a period of three working days, beginning with the day on which the new order is made. After the three working day period, regulation 30(1) must be complied with – and in respect of a DOL order, the requirement in regulation 31 must be satisfied - for the new legal order to continue to have effect as if it were a CSO for the purposes in regulation 29(3).
Regulation 32 makes provision for cases in which a child is to be removed from a residential care setting to be placed with a foster carer where the court in the child’s home jurisdiction makes a new relevant order (be that of the same or a different type to that having effect in the residential setting.) That new order is recognised as if it were a CSO for the purposes mentioned in regulation 32(3) for a period of three working days, subject to the requirements in regulation 32(2) being met. After the three working day period, regulation 33 must be complied with for the new relevant order to continue to have effect as specified in regulation 33(b).
Part 10 of the Regulations includes regulations 34 and 35, which set out duties of the placing fostering authority during an ongoing foster placement.
Part 11 applies and modifies certain provisions of the Act in respect of relevant orders and DOL orders having effect under specified provisions of the Regulations as if they were CSOs.
Part 12 makes provision for the enforcement of certain duties of the placing local authority and the placing fostering authority under the Regulations. Regulation 37 sets out the procedure by which the Scottish Ministers can seek to enforce such a duty before escalating the matter to the relevant sheriff in accordance with regulation 38. Regulation 39 states that a sheriff may make an order to enforce the relevant duties, which order is final.
Part 13 sets out requirements for the placing local authority or placing fostering authority to make notifications about certain events in connection with an ongoing residential or fostering placement. Regulation 40 deals with notification of the proposed termination of such a placement and regulation 41 deals with notification of the death of a child subject to such a placement.
Part 14 contains regulation 42, which provides that the effect given to any relevant order or DOL order pertaining to a child under certain provisions of the Regulations is extinguished where the child becomes subject to a CSO or an interim CSO.
Part 15 deals with permanent transfer of relevant orders to CSOs. It provides for relevant orders to have effect as if they were CSOs where certain conditions are met, including that the local authority for the area in which the child is to reside has consented to the proposed transfer in writing.
Part 16 applies and modifies certain provisions of the Act where a relevant order has effect as if it were a CSO under Part 15.
Part 17 revokes the Children’s Hearings (Scotland) Act 2011 (Transfer of Children to Scotland – Effect of Orders made in England and Wales or Northern Ireland) Regulations 2013. It also revokes the Cross-border Placements (Effect of Deprivation of Liberty Orders) (Scotland) Regulations 2022, subject to savings and transitional provisions.
Schedule 1 sets out the form of undertaking required from the placing local authority, in accordance with regulation 5(2)(b), 27(2)(b) and 30(2)(b).
Schedule 2 outlines the requirements for ongoing residential placement reviews, as referred to in regulation 16.
Schedule 3 details the matters to be outlined in the agreement as between the placing fostering authority and a foster carer, as referred to in regulations 21(4), 28(4) and 33(1)(b).
Impact assessments have been prepared in relation to these Regulations and are published online at gov.scot .

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/sdsi/2026/9780111064351/note (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/draft-cross-border-placement-of-children-requirements-effect-and-enforcement-scotland-regulations-2026/note
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.