What UK legislation governs children?

Children Act 2004

Stemming from a large investigation into the welfare of children culminating in the Green Paper, ‘Every Child Matters’, the Children Act 2004 provides the legal framework for the reform of the system responsible for ensuring the welfare of children and young people. Previously, there were many separate pieces of child welfare legislation which resulted in numerous disparate powers and functions which were relatively uncoordinated, resulting in maladministration and children ‘falling through the gaps’.

The Children Act 2004 now places a duty on all services who work to protect children to ensure that every child, whatever their background or circumstances, is supported. It places a ‘duty to cooperate’ on all such services, designed to eliminate the ‘gaps’. Services that must cooperate include local authorities, the police, the probation board, and the youth offending team, amongst others.

Children Act 1989

The Children Act 1989 was an earlier reform of the law relating to children. It made provision for local authority services for children in need and others, including imposing a duty to investigate children in need or at risk of significant harm. It amended family law with respect to children's homes, community homes, voluntary homes and voluntary organisations, and made provision with respect to fostering, adoption, child minding and day care. It also provided for:

- Emergency Protection Orders
- Care and Supervision Orders
- Secure Accommodation Orders
- Family Assistance Orders
- Residence Orders
- The welfare checklist

Adoption and Children Act 2002

The Adoption and Children Act 2002 provided a major overhaul of adoption law, replacing the Adoption Act 1976 and modernising the entire legal framework for domestic and inter-country adoption. It placed a duty on local authorities to maintain an adoption service, made provision for the process of adoption, and set out a regulatory structure for adoption support agencies. Importantly, it provided for adoption orders to be made in favour of single people, married couples and, for the first time, unmarried couples. It also introduced a new special guardianship order, intended to provide permanence for children for whom adoption is not appropriate.

There are many other pieces of legislation which affect children, including legislation directed towards young offenders. If you require legal advice on the law affecting children, you should contact a family solicitor specialising in children’s issues in the first instance. A family solicitor can assess your situation and provide you with specific legal advice regarding your options.

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