Support for unaccompanied children and children in families
Does the local authority acquire ‘parental responsibility’ for an unaccompanied asylum seeking child?
No. Parental responsibility may only be acquired by the local authority or an 'authorised body' (such as the NSPCC), as a result of taking care proceedings under s.31 Children Act 1989.
Click here for further information on parental responsibility.
An application for a care order may not be made for a child who has reached the age of 17, or 16 if the child is married.
The court will make a care order if it is satisfied that a child is suffering, or is likely to suffer significant harm. This harm must be a result of the failure of the child's parents to provide reasonable care, or of the child's being beyond control. In deciding whether the harm to the child's health or development is 'significant', the court will make a comparison with what might reasonably be expected of a similar child.
'Harm' means ill-treatment or the impairment of the child's health or development, and; 'health' means the child's physical or mental health; 'development' is applied to the child's physical, intellectual, emotional, social or behavioural development; and 'ill-treatment' includes sexual abuse and forms of ill-treatment which are not physical, such as emotional abuse.
What does a care order do?
A care order will not take away the parental responsibility from the child's mother and father, but it does permit the local authority to decide how far the parents may exercise that responsibility.
Where there is a care order in force in respect of a child, the local authority may not:
cause the child to be brought up in any religion other than the one he would have been brought up if there were no order; or
consent to the child's adoption; or
change the child's name; or
remove the child from the United Kingdom for more than 1 month
In the case of the last two, either the leave of the court or the written consent of all parental responsibility holders must be obtained.
How can a care order be changed?
Care orders can be amended to become supervision orders, or may be discharged. This can only be done by the court.
Revised: 21/01/08
