The Adoption Agencies Regulations 2005

Made: 23rd February 2005

Laid before Parliament: 2nd March 2005

Coming into force: 30th December 2005

The Secretary of State for Education and Skills, in exercise of the powers conferred on her by sections 26(1) to (2B), 59(4)(a) and (5) and 104(4) of the Children Act 1989 and sections 9(1)(a), 11(1)(b), 27(3), 53(1) to (3), 54, 140(7) and (8) and 142 (4) and (5) of the Adoption and Children Act 2002 , and all other powers enabling her in that behalf, hereby makes the following Regulations:

PART 1 — GENERAL

Citation, commencement and application

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• (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Adoption Agencies Regulations 2005 and shall come into force on 30th December 2005.

• (2) These Regulations apply to England only.

Interpretation

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• (1) In these Regulations—

• “the Act” means the Adoption and Children Act 2002;

• “the 1989 Act” means the Children Act 1989;

• “the 1989 Regulations” means the Children Act 1989 Representations Procedure (England) Regulations 2006;

• the 2010 Regulations” means the Care Planning, Placement and Case Review (England) Regulations 2010;

• “adoption panel” means a panel established in accordance with regulation 3;

• “adoption placement plan” has the meaning given in regulation 35(2);

• “adoption placement report” means the report prepared by the adoption agency in accordance with regulation 31(2)(d);

• . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• “adoption support services” has the meaning given in section 2(6)(a) of the Act and in any regulations made under section 2(6)(b) of the Act;

• “adoptive family” has the meaning given in regulation 31(2)(a);

• “CAFCASS” means the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service ;

• care order” has the meaning given in section 105(1) of the 1989 Act;

• “child's case record” has the meaning given in regulation 12;

• “child's health report” means the report obtained in accordance with regulation 15(2)(b);

• “child's permanence report” means the report prepared by the adoption agency in accordance with regulation 17(1);

• “independent member” in relation to an adoption panel has the meaning given in regulation 3(3)(e);

• “independent review panel” means a panel constituted under section 12 of the Act;

• “joint adoption panel” means an adoption panel established in accordance with regulation 3(5);

• “medical adviser” means the person appointed as the medical adviser by the adoption agency in accordance with regulation 9(1);

• “preparation for adoption” has the meaning given in regulation 24;

• “proposed placement” has the meaning given in regulation 31(1);

• “prospective adopter assessment plan” has the meaning given in regulation 29;

• “prospective adopter's case record” has the meaning given in regulation 22(1);

• “prospective adopter matching plan” has the meaning given in regulation 30H;

• “prospective adopter's report” means the report prepared by the adoption agency in accordance with regulation 30(2);

• “prospective adopter's review report” means the report prepared by the adoption agency in accordance with regulation 30D(4)(a);

• “prospective adopter stage one plan” has the meaning given in regulation 22;

• “qualifying determination” has the meaning given in regulation 30B(5)(a);

• “registration authority” means Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills;

• “relevant foreign authority” means a person, outside the British Islands performing functions in the country in which the child is, or in which the prospective adopter is, habitually resident which correspond to the functions of an adoption agency or to the functions of the Secretary of State in respect of adoptions with a foreign element;

• “relevant post-qualifying experience” means post-qualifying experience in child care social work including direct experience in adoption work;

• “section 83 case” means a case where a person who is habitually resident in the British Islands intends to bring, or to cause another to bring, a child into the United Kingdom in circumstances where section 83 of the Act (restriction on bringing children into the United Kingdom) applies;

• “social worker” means a person who is registered as a social worker in the register of social workers in England maintained under section 39(1) of the Children and Social Work Act 2017, in the register maintained by Social Care Wales under section 80 of the Regulation and Inspection of Social Care (Wales) Act 2016 or in a corresponding register maintained under the law of Scotland or Northern Ireland;

• “vice chair” has the meaning given in regulation 3(4) or, as the case may be, (5)(c);

• “working day” means any day other than a Saturday, Sunday, Christmas Day, Good Friday or a day which is a bank holiday within the meaning of the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971 .

• (2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

PART 2 — ADOPTION AGENCY - ARRANGEMENTS FOR ADOPTION WORK

Establishment of adoption panel

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• (1) Subject to regulation 5, an adoption agency must maintain a list of persons who are considered by it to be suitable to be members of an adoption panel (“the central list”), including—

• (a) one or more social workers who have at least three years’ relevant post-qualifying experience, and

• (b) the medical adviser to the adoption agency (or at least one if more than one medical adviser is appointed).

• (2) A person who is included in the central list may at any time ask to be removed from the central list by giving one month’s notice in writing.

• (3) Where the adoption agency is of the opinion that a person included in the central list is unsuitable or unable to remain in the list the agency may remove that person’s name from the list by giving them one month’s notice in writing with reasons.

Tenure of office of members of the adoption panel

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• (1) The adoption agency must constitute one or more adoption panels, as necessary, to perform the functions of an adoption panel under these Regulations and must appoint the panel members from the persons in the central list including—

• (a) a person to chair the panel, being an independent person, who has the skills and experience necessary for chairing an adoption panel, and

• (b) one or two persons who may act as chair if the person appointed to chair the panel is absent or that office is vacant (“the vice chairs”).

• (2) The adoption agency must ensure that an adoption panel has sufficient members, and that individual members have between them the experience and expertise necessary to effectively discharge the functions of the panel.

• (3) Any two or more local authorities may jointly constitute an adoption panel (“a joint adoption panel”) in which case the appointment of members must be by agreement between the authorities.

• (4) A local authority may pay to any member of an adoption panel constituted by it such fee as it may determine, being a fee of a reasonable amount.

• (5) Any adoption panel member may resign at any time by giving one month’s notice in writing to the adoption agency which appointed them.

• (6) Where an adoption agency is of the opinion that any member of the adoption panel appointed by it is unsuitable or unable to continue as a panel member, it may terminate that member’s appointment at any time by giving the member notice in writing with reasons.

• (7) A person (“P”) is not an independent person for the purposes of this regulation and regulation 6 if—

• (a) in the case of a registered adoption society, P is a trustee or employee of that society, or

• (b) in the case of a local authority, P—

• (i) is an elected member of that authority, or

• (ii) is employed by that authority for the purposes of the adoption service or for the purposes of any of that local authority’s functions relating to the protection or placement of children, or

• (c) P is the adoptive parent of a child who was—

• (i) placed for adoption with P by the adoption agency (“agency A”), or

• (ii) placed for adoption with P by another adoption agency where P had been approved as suitable to be an adoptive parent by agency A,

unless at least 12 months has elapsed since the adoption order was made in respect of the child.

Meetings of adoption panel

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Where an adoption agency operates only for the purpose of putting persons into contact with other adoption agencies and for the purpose of putting such agencies into contact with each other or for either of such purposes, regulations 3, 4, 8 and, to the extent that it requires consultation with persons in the central list, regulation 7 shall not apply to such an agency.

Payment of fees to member of local authority adoption panel

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• (1) No business may be conducted by an adoption panel unless at least the following meet as the panel—

• (a) either the person appointed to chair the panel or one of the vice chairs,

• (b) one person falling within regulation 3(1)(a),

• (c) three, or in the case of an adoption panel established under regulation 4(3) four, other members and where the chair is not present and the vice chair is not an independent person, at least one other panel member must be an independent person.

• (2) An adoption panel must make a written record of its proceedings, its recommendations and the reasons for its recommendations.

Adoption agency arrangements for adoption work

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An adoption agency must, in consultation with such persons in the central list as the agency considers appropriate and, to the extent specified in regulation 8(4) with the agency’s medical adviser, prepare and implement written policy and procedural instructions governing the exercise of the functions of the agency and an adoption panel in relation to adoption and such instructions shall be kept under review and, where appropriate, revised by the agency.

Requirement to appoint an agency adviser and a medical adviser

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• (1) The adoption agency must appoint a senior member of staff, or where local authorities agree to constitute joint adoption panels as necessary appoint a senior member of staff of one of them, (referred to in this regulation as the “agency adviser”)—

• (a) to assist the agency with the maintenance of the central list and the constitution of adoption panels,

• (b) to be responsible for the induction and training of persons in the central list,

• (c) to be responsible for liaison between the agency and an adoption panel, monitoring the performance of persons in the central list and members of the adoption panel and the administration of adoption panels, and

• (d) to give such advice to an adoption panel as the panel may request in relation to any case or generally.

• (2) The agency adviser must be a social worker and have at least five years’ relevant post-qualification experience and, in the opinion of the adoption agency, relevant management experience.

• (3) The adoption agency must appoint at least one registered medical practitioner to be the agency’s medical adviser.

• (4) The medical adviser shall be consulted in relation to the arrangements for access to, and disclosure of, health information which is required or permitted by virtue of these Regulations.

Requirement to appoint a medical adviser

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Establishment of new adoption panels on 30 December 2005

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PART 3 — DUTIES OF ADOPTION AGENCY WHERE THE AGENCY IS CONSIDERING ADOPTION FOR A CHILD

Application of regulations 11 to 17

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Regulations 12 to 17 apply where the adoption agency is considering adoption for a child.

Requirement to open the child's case record

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• (1) The adoption agency must set up a case record (“the child's case record”) in respect of the child and place on it—

• (a) the information and reports obtained by the agency by virtue of this Part;

• (b) the child's permanence report;

• (c) where applicable, the written record of the proceedings of the adoption panel under regulation 18, its recommendation and the reasons for its recommendation and any advice given by the panel to the agency;

• (d) the record of the agency's decision and any notification of that decision under regulation 19;

• (e) any consent to placement for adoption under section 19 of the Act (placing children with parental consent);

• (f) any consent to the making of a future adoption order under section 20 of the Act (advance consent to adoption);

• (g) any form or notice withdrawing consent under section 19 or 20 of the Act or notice under section 20(4)(a) or (b) of the Act;

• (h) a copy of any placement order in respect of the child; and

• (i) any other documents or information obtained by the agency which it considers should be included in that case record;

• (j) details of any prospective adopters for the child identified by virtue of regulation 12A(1) (requirement to identify potential prospective adopters); and

• (k) the record of any decision notified under regulation 12B (duties of adoption agency when child to be placed following consideration in accordance with section 22C(9B)(c) of the Children Act 1989) and any notification of that decision under regulation 22A of the 2010 Regulations.

• (2) Where an adoption agency places on the child's case record a notice under section 20(4)(a) or (b) of the Act, the agency must send a copy of that notice to a court which has given the agency notice of the issue of an application for an adoption order.

Requirement to provide counselling and information for, and ascertain wishes and feelings of, the child

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• (1) The adoption agency must, so far as is reasonably practicable—

• (a) provide a counselling service for the child;

• (b) explain to the child in an appropriate manner the procedure in relation to, and the legal implications of, adoption for the child and provide him with appropriate written information about these matters; and

• (c) ascertain the child's wishes and feelings regarding—

• (i) the possibility of placement for adoption with a new family and his adoption;

• (ii) his religious and cultural upbringing; and

• (iii) contact with his parent or guardian or other relative or with any other person the agency considers relevant.

• (2) Paragraph (1) does not apply if the adoption agency is satisfied that the requirements of that paragraph have been carried out in respect of the child by another adoption agency.

Requirement to provide counselling and information for, and ascertain wishes and feelings of, the parent or guardian of the child and others

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• (1) The adoption agency must, so far as is reasonably practicable—

• (a) provide a counselling service for the parent or guardian of the child;

• (b) explain to him—

• (i) the procedure in relation to both placement for adoption and adoption;

• (ii) the legal implications of—

• (aa) giving consent to placement for adoption under section 19 of the Act;

• (bb) giving consent to the making of a future adoption order under section 20 of the Act; and

• (cc) a placement order; and

• (iii) the legal implications of adoption,

• (iv) the legal implications of a child being placed in accordance with section 22C of the 1989 Act with a local authority foster parent who is also a prospective adopter following consideration in accordance with section 22C(9B)(c) of that Act.

and provide him with written information about these matters; and

• (c) ascertain the wishes and feelings of the parent or guardian of the child and, of any other person the agency considers relevant, regarding—

• (i) the child;

• (ii) the placement of the child for adoption and his adoption, including any wishes and feelings about the child's religious and cultural upbringing; and

• (iii) contact with the child if the child is authorised to be placed for adoption or the child is adopted.

• (2) Paragraph (1) does not apply if the agency is satisfied that the requirements of that paragraph have been carried out in respect of the parent or guardian and any other person the agency considers relevant by another adoption agency.

• (3) This paragraph applies where the father of the child does not have parental responsibility for the child and the father's identity is known to the adoption agency.

• (4) Where paragraph (3) applies and the adoption agency is satisfied it is appropriate to do so, the agency must—

• (a) carry out in respect of the father the requirements of paragraph (1)(a), (b)(i), (iii) and (iv) and (c) as if they applied to him unless the agency is satisfied that the requirements have been carried out in respect of the father by another agency; and

• (b) ascertain so far as possible whether the father—

• (i) wishes to acquire parental responsibility for the child under section 4 of the 1989 Act (acquisition of parental responsibility by father) , or paragraph 4ZA of the 1989 Act (acquisition of parental responsibility by second female parent); or

• (ii) intends to apply for a child arrangements order with respect to the child under section 8 of the 1989 Act (child arrangements orders and other orders with respect to children) or, where the child is subject to a care order, an order under section 34 of the 1989 Act (parental contact etc. with children in care).

Requirement to obtain information about the child

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• (1) The adoption agency must obtain, so far as is reasonably practicable, the information about the child which is specified in Part 1 of Schedule 1.