Session 2012 - 13
Internet Publications
Other Bills before Parliament


 
 

Public Bill Committee: 19 March 2013                  

130

 

Children and Families Bill, continued

 
 

(5)    

If the regulations include provision authorising direct payments, they

 

must—

 

(a)    

require the consent of the recipient, or (in prescribed

 

circumstances) a person of a prescribed description, to be

 

obtained before direct payments are made;

 

(b)    

require the authority to stop making direct payments where the

 

required consent is withdrawn.

 

(6)    

Any special guardianship support services secured by means of direct

 

payments made by a local authority are to be treated as special

 

guardianship support services provided by the authority for all purposes,

 

subject to any prescribed conditions or exceptions.

 

(7)    

In this section “prescribed” means prescribed by regulations.’.

 


 

Special guardianship support services: duty to provide information

 

Lucy Powell

 

NC9

 

To move the following Clause:—

 

‘In Part 2 of the Children Act 1989, after section 14G (Special guardianship

 

support services: personal budgets), insert—

 

“14H  

Special guardianship support services: duty to provide information

 

(1)    

Except in circumstances prescribed by regulations, a local authority in

 

England must provide the information specified in subsection (2) to—

 

(a)    

any person who has contacted the authority to request

 

information about special guardianship support,

 

(b)    

any person within the authority’s area who the authority are

 

aware is a special guardian for a child, and

 

(c)    

any person within the authority’s area who is a special guardian

 

and has contacted the authority to request any of the information

 

specified in subsection (2).

 

(2)    

The information is—

 

(a)    

information about the special guardianship support services

 

available to people in the authority’s area;

 

(b)    

information about the right to request an assessment under

 

section 14F (assessments etc for special guardianship support

 

services), and the authority’s duties under that section and

 

regulations made under it;

 

(c)    

information about the authority’s duties under section 14G

 

(special guardianship support services: personal budgets) and the

 

regulations made under it;

 

(d)    

any other information prescribed by regulations.’.

 



 
 

Public Bill Committee: 19 March 2013                  

131

 

Children and Families Bill, continued

 
 

Review of impact of under-occupancy penalty on prospective adopters, prospective

 

special guardians and foster parents

 

Lisa Nandy

 

Mrs Sharon Hodgson

 

Bill Esterson

 

NC10

 

To move the following Clause:—

 

‘Before the end of one year beginning with the day on which this Act receives

 

Royal Assent, the Secretary of State must—

 

(a)    

carry out a review of the impact of the housing under-occupancy penalty

 

on prospective adopters, prospective special guardians and foster parents,

 

and

 

(b)    

publish a report of the conclusions of the review.’.

 


 

Pre-proceedings work with families

 

Lisa Nandy

 

Mrs Sharon Hodgson

 

NC11

 

To move the following Clause:—

 

‘(1)    

Section 47 of the Children Act 1989 (Local authority’s duty to investigate) is

 

amended as follows—

 

(2)    

After subsection (12) insert—

 

“(13)    

Where, as a result of complying with this section, a local authority

 

concludes that a child may need to become looked after in order to

 

safeguard and promote the child’s welfare, the local authority must,

 

unless emergency action is required,—

 

(a)    

identify, and consider the willingness and suitability of any

 

relative, friend or other person connected with the child, to care

 

for them as an alternative to them becoming looked after by

 

unrelated carers;

 

(b)    

offer the child’s parents or other person with parental

 

responsibility a family group conference to develop a plan which

 

will safeguard and promote the child’s welfare.”.’.

 


 

Provision of health services for children looked after by local authorities

 

Annette Brooke

 

NC12

 

To move the following Clause:—

 

‘(1)    

Following a medical assessment at the time of a child being taken into care, the

 

clinical commissioning group has a duty to health services, where appropriate.


 
 

Public Bill Committee: 19 March 2013                  

132

 

Children and Families Bill, continued

 
 

(2)    

Health services includes, but is not limited to, therapeutic counselling and other

 

mental health services.’.

 


 

Welfare of the child - quality of parental relationship

 

Lisa Nandy

 

Mrs Sharon Hodgson

 

NC13

 

To move the following Clause:—

 

‘Section 1 of the Children Act 1989 (welfare of the child) is amended by the

 

addition at the end of subsection (3) of the following paragraph:

 

“(h)    

the quality of the relationship that the child has with each of his

 

parents, both currently and in the foreseeable future.”.’.

 


 

Arrangements for the provision of evidence by staff of a local authority or of an

 

authorised applicant in children proceedings

 

Lisa Nandy

 

Mrs Sharon Hodgson

 

NC14

 

To move the following Clause:—

 

‘(1)    

The Secretary of State must make arrangements to support a person who is

 

instructed to provide evidence for use in children proceedings if they are a

 

member of the staff of a local authority or of an authorised applicant under section

 

13(8)(a)(i).

 

(2)    

The arrangements described in subsection (1) may include—

 

(a)    

training prior to the proceedings,

 

(b)    

coaching whilst at court,

 

(c)    

designated facilities at court to enable preparation for the proceedings,

 

and

 

(d)    

any other arrangements the Secretary of State believes will enable

 

members of the staff of a local authority or of an authorised applicant to

 

provide evidence in the proceedings.’.

 



 
 

Public Bill Committee: 19 March 2013                  

133

 

Children and Families Bill, continued

 
 

Duty to secure social care provision in accordance with EHC Plan

 

Mr Robert Buckland

 

NC16

 

To move the following Clause:—

 

‘( )    

A local authority that maintains an EHC plan for a child or young person must

 

secure the social care provision identified through an assessment under section 17

 

of the Children Act 1989 specified in the plan.’.

 


 

Continuity of special educational provision when a child or young person moves

 

residence

 

Caroline Nokes

 

NC17

 

To move the following Clause:—

 

‘(1)    

This section applies where—

 

(a)    

a local authority (the “sending authority”) maintains an education, health

 

and care plan for a child or young person, and

 

(b)    

another local authority (the “receiving authority”) is notified by the

 

child’s parent or the young person that they intend to move residence to

 

the receiving authority’s area.

 

(2)    

Where the sending authority is notified by the child’s parent or the young person

 

that they intend to move residence it must provide the receiving authority with a

 

copy of the education, health and care plan.

 

(3)    

The receiving authority must—

 

(a)    

review the child or young person’s education health and care plan having

 

regard to the need for continuity of provision, and the outcomes specified

 

in the plan; and

 

(b)    

provide the child’s parent or the young person with such information as

 

it considers appropriate.’.

 


 

Information sharing about live births

 

Mrs Sharon Hodgson

 

Lisa Nandy

 

NC18

 

To move the following Clause:—

 

‘(1)    

NHS trusts should make arrangements to share with local authorities records of

 

live births to parents resident in their area, to be used by the local authority for the

 

purposes of identifying and contacting new families through children’s centres

 

and any other early years outreach services it may operate.

 

(2)    

The Secretary of State must, within a period of six months of Royal Assent to this

 

Act, bring forward regulations placing consequential requirements on trusts and


 
 

Public Bill Committee: 19 March 2013                  

134

 

Children and Families Bill, continued

 
 

local authorities in exercising their duty under subsection (1), including, but not

 

limited to—

 

(a)    

the format of arrangements made;

 

(b)    

the safeguarding of information;

 

(c)    

the circumstances in which it would not be appropriate for a trust to

 

provide information to local authorities;

 

(d)    

the regularity of data transfers;

 

(e)    

timescales within which a local authority must contact new families

 

made known to it; and

 

(f)    

any further requirements the Secretary of State deems necessary.’.

 


 

Children and young people in mainstream schools with specified health conditions,

 

without special educational needs

 

Mrs Sharon Hodgson

 

Lisa Nandy

 

NC19

 

To move the following Clause:—

 

‘(1)    

The governing body of a mainstream school has a duty to produce and implement

 

a medical conditions policy that defines how it plans to support the needs of

 

children with specified health conditions.

 

(2)    

The medical conditions policy must include provision about—

 

(a)    

the means by which records of the specified health conditions of children

 

at the school are to be recorded and maintained; and

 

(b)    

the preparation of an individual healthcare plan for each child with a

 

specified health condition which sets out the needs of that child arising

 

from that condition.

 

(3)    

The medical conditions policy must include requirements relating to the

 

provision of appropriate training for school staff to support the implementation of

 

individual healthcare plans.

 

(4)    

In preparing an individual healthcare plan the governing body must—

 

(a)    

consult the parents of the child concerned and, where appropriate, the

 

child about the contents of the plan; and

 

(b)    

there shall be a duty on NHS bodies to co-operate with the governing

 

body in its preparation and implementation of individual healthcare

 

plans.

 

(5)    

Local authorities and clinical commissioning groups must co-operate with

 

governing bodies in fulfilling their functions under this Act.

 

(6)    

The Secretary of State may by regulations define ‘specified health conditions’ for

 

the purposes of this section.

 

(7)    

For the purposes of this section ‘NHS bodies’ has the same meaning as in the

 

Health and Social Care Act 2012.’.

 



 
 

Public Bill Committee: 19 March 2013                  

135

 

Children and Families Bill, continued

 
 

Tribunal service: information on cases related to special educational needs

 

Mrs Sharon Hodgson

 

Lisa Nandy

 

NC20

 

To move the following Clause:—

 

‘(1)    

The Secretary of State must collect information on all cases related to special

 

educational needs which are considered by the Tribunal Service, including—

 

(a)    

the local authority involved;

 

(b)    

the cost to the Tribunal Service;

 

(c)    

the amount spent by the local authority on fighting each case;

 

(d)    

the nature of each case; and

 

(e)    

the outcome of each case.

 

(2)    

The Secretary of State must collate and publish information collected in the

 

exercise of his functions under subsection (1) once a year.

 

(3)    

The following bodies must make arrangements to provide such information to the

 

Secretary of State as is necessary to enable him to perform his functions under

 

this section—

 

(a)    

the Tribunal Service;

 

(b)    

local authorities.’.

 


 

Early years area SEN co-ordinators

 

Mrs Sharon Hodgson

 

Lisa Nandy

 

NC21

 

To move the following Clause:—

 

‘(1)    

Local authorities must appoint sufficient full-time equivalent members of staff (to

 

be known as Early Years Area SEN Co-ordinators) to have responsibility for co-

 

ordinating provision for children in Ofsted-registered early years settings other

 

than maintained nursery schools.

 

(2)    

In assessing sufficiency of staffing levels under subsection (1) the local authority

 

must have regard to—

 

(a)    

the number of children with special educational needs in its area

 

registered with early years settings to which subsection (1) applies;

 

(b)    

the number and geographical location of early years settings to which

 

subsection (1) applies.

 

(3)    

Regulations may provide for—

 

(a)    

further considerations to be made by local authorities in exercising their

 

duties under subsection (1);

 

(b)    

the specific responsibilities of Early Years Area SEN Co-ordinators.

 

(4)    

The Secretary of State shall publish guidance to local authorities to assist in

 

exercising their functions under subsection (1).


 
 

Public Bill Committee: 19 March 2013                  

136

 

Children and Families Bill, continued

 
 

(5)    

Local authorities must publish information on the provision of Early Years Area

 

SEN Co-ordinators as part of exercising their duties under section 30 of this Act

 

(local offer for children and young people with special educational needs).’.

 


 

Application of Part 3 to detained children and young people

 

Mrs Sharon Hodgson

 

Lisa Nandy

 

NC22

 

To move the following Clause:—

 

‘(1)    

This section applies to children and young people detained in custody in

 

pursuance of—

 

(a)    

an order made by a court, or

 

(b)    

an order of recall made by the Secretary of State.

 

(2)    

Where a child or young person under the age of 18 to whom subsection (1) applies

 

has an EHC plan immediately prior to commencing his or her custodial sentence,

 

the local authority responsible for that child or young person must determine

 

which elements of provision described in the said plan may be delivered during

 

that sentence.

 

(3)    

Where a child or young person under the age of 18 to whom subsection (1) applies

 

has an EHC plan immediately prior to commencing his or her custodial

 

sentence—

 

(a)    

if that sentence is greater than 13 weeks in minimum length, the

 

responsible local authority may cease the plan;

 

(b)    

if the sentence is not more than 13 weeks in minimum length, the

 

responsible local authority may consider whether it would be

 

advantageous to continue to deliver any parts of the child or young

 

person’s EHC plan during his or her detention.

 

(4)    

In the course of their considerations under subsections (2) and (3), the responsible

 

local authority must consult—

 

(a)    

the child or young person concerned, and their family;

 

(b)    

the institution in which the child or young person will be detained;

 

(c)    

any organisations delivering education or training within or on behalf of

 

the institution in which the child or young person will be detained, and;

 

(d)    

any professionals or agencies other than the local authority which

 

currently provide services under the terms of the child or young person’s

 

EHC plan.

 

(5)    

In the course of their considerations under subsections (2) and (3), the responsible

 

local authority must have regard to—

 

(a)    

the nature of the crime for which the child or young person has been

 

detained;

 

(b)    

the age of the child or young person;

 

(c)    

the previous educational outcomes of the child or young person;

 

(d)    

the views of those consulted by virtue of subsection (4), and;


 
previous section contents continue
 

© Parliamentary copyright
Revised 19 March 2013