Section 4 - Advice and assistance for certain children and young persons aged 16 or over

Section 4 restates Articles 35 and 36 of the Children Order and divides them into four (Articles 35, 35A, 35B and 35C) to make the provisions simpler to follow. They have also been amended to take account of the new concept of the responsible authority and to increase an authority's responsibilities to assist care leavers with further and higher education.

Article 35 - Persons qualifying for advice and assistance

Paragraphs (1) to (3) restate the definition of "a person qualifying for advice and assistance" previously found in Article 35(2) and (3) of the Children Order before amendment by the Act. The term applies to any person who is under the age of 21 who was after reaching the age of 16, but whilst still under 18, looked after by an authority, accommodated in a voluntary or private children's home or privately fostered. The term also applies to such a person who was accommodated for a consecutive period of 3 months in certain other establishments. This applies even if the 3-month period began before the young person reached the age of 16.

Paragraph (4) provides that in the case of a young person qualifying for advice and assistance, the authority which last looked after the young person must take such steps as it considers appropriate to keep in touch with him or her in order to discharge its functions under Articles 35A and 35B. This duty is intended to apply to those young people who leave care but do not qualify for the full package of support under the provisions of the Act.

Paragraph (5) defines which authority is to be responsible for providing aftercare services (the "relevant authority") to a person qualifying for advice and assistance. Paragraph (5)(a) provides that the relevant authority for a care leaver is the authority which last looked after the young person. Paragraph (5)(b) provides that for any other young person qualifying for help under Article 35, the relevant authority is the one in whose area the young person is currently living.

Article 35A - Advice and assistance

Article 35A restates with amendments the powers and duties of authorities in respect of qualifying persons previously found in Articles 35(4) to (6) and 36(1) and (4) of the Children Order before amendment by the Act.

Paragraph (1) places a duty on the relevant authority to consider whether a qualifying person meets the conditions set out in paragraph (2).

Paragraph (2) sets out the conditions, which are: that the qualifying person needs help of a kind which the relevant authority can give him, and (if not qualifying by virtue of being a care leaver) the authority is satisfied that the person who was looking after the young person is not in a position to offer that help.

Paragraph (3) states that if the conditions in paragraph (2) are met, the relevant authority must advise and befriend a young person who has been looked after by an authority or voluntary organisation, and may advise and befriend other qualifying young people.

Paragraph (4) provides that where an authority has a duty or a power to advise and befriend someone under this Article, it may also give him assistance.

Paragraph (5) enables an authority which gives assistance under paragraph (4) to provide such assistance in kind or, in exceptional circumstances, in cash.

Paragraph (6) applies existing Article 18(7) to (9) of the Children Order to any assistance which may be given under this Article or Article 35B. This requires an authority to take account of the means of the child concerned and his or her parents, and permits the authority, depending on their means, to require some or all of this assistance to be repaid.

Article 35B - Employment, education and training

Article 35B replaces the powers to provide assistance with employment, education and training previously found in Article 36(2) and (3) of the Children Order before amendment by the Act. In addition to the general powers to provide assistance under Article 35A, an authority has specific powers to provide assistance to young care leavers where this is in connection with the young person's employment (Article 35B(1)), education or training (Article 35B(2)).

Paragraph (1) provides that a relevant authority may give assistance to a person under 21 who was looked after by the authority after reaching the age of 16, by contributing to expenses incurred by the young person in living near the place where he or she is, or is to be, employed.

Paragraphs (2) and (3) provide that a relevant authority may give assistance to a person under the age of 24 who was looked after by the authority after reaching age 16, by contributing to expenses incurred by the young person in living near the place where he or she is, or will be, receiving education or training. The authority may also make a grant to enable the young person to meet expenses in connection with his or her education or training.

Paragraph (4) enables an authority to disregard any interruption in a young person's attendance at a course connected with education or training if he or she resumes it as soon as is reasonably practicable.

Paragraph (5) places a new duty on an authority to provide, should it be needed, suitable out of term accommodation, or the funds to secure it, to young care leavers in full-time further or higher education.

Paragraph (6) gives the Department the power to make regulations to define the terms "full-time", "further education", "higher education" and "vacation" for the purposes of this Article.

Article 35C - Information

Article 35C provides for the necessary communication and liaison between authorities in respect of care leavers who move from one authority area to another. It replaces the notification provisions previously found in Article 37(3) and (4) of the Children Order before amendment by the Act.

Paragraph (1) requires authorities to notify each other in certain circumstances. If an authority is under a duty to keep in touch with an "eligible", "relevant" or "former relevant" child and becomes aware that he or she proposes to live, or does live, in the area of another authority, it must inform the other authority. An authority is under the same duty if it is advising or assisting a young person under Article 35A or 35B of the Children Order.

Paragraph (2) provides that if a young person ceases, after reaching the age of 16, to be accommodated by or on behalf of a voluntary organisation or in a private children's home or in accommodated mentioned in Article 35(2)(d) of the Children Order, then the person providing the accommodation must inform the authority in whose area the young person proposes to live.

Section 5 - Representations

This section inserts a new Article 35D into the Children Order. It requires each authority to establish arrangements for dealing with complaints about its services under Articles 34B and 34D, and Articles 35, 35A and 35B. Article 35D replaces the representation provisions previously found in Article 37(1) and (2) of the Children Order before amendment by the Act.

Article 35D - Representations: Articles 34B to 35B

Paragraph (1) requires each authority to establish a procedure for hearing representations, including complaints, made by young people who qualify for the new support arrangements under the Act about the way an authority is carrying out any of its functions under Part IV of the Children Order.

Paragraph (2) requires an authority to comply with any regulations made by the Department when considering any representations under paragraph (1).

Section 6 - Exclusion from benefits

Section 6 deals with changes to social security legislation. It removes entitlement to income-based Jobseeker's Allowance, Income Support and Housing Benefit from those young people who will be supported by authorities under the new after care arrangements until they reach the age of 18.

Subsection (1) provides that no person to whom this section applies will be entitled to income-based Jobseeker's Allowance, Income Support or Housing Benefit.

Subsection (2) provides that, subject to subsection (3), this section applies to eligible and relevant children. In the relation to both eligible and relevant children, the responsible authority will have a duty to meet their maintenance and accommodation needs until they reach the age of 18.

Subsection (3) gives the Department for Social Development the power to make regulations to provide for certain eligible or relevant children to be exempted from the provisions of this section. It is envisaged that this provision will be used to ensure that Income Support and Jobseeker's Allowance will still be available to care leavers who would otherwise be relevant children but who are lone parents or disabled.

Subsection (4) enables the Department for Social Development to make regulations to make transitional, consequential and saving provisions in connection with the commencement of this section.

Subsection (5) provides that section 171(3) to (5) of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits (Northern Ireland) Act 1992 applies to the regulation-making powers in this section. As with other social security legislation, this makes it clear that regulations may make different provisions for different cases and for different purposes and provides powers for discretion to be exercised in dealing with various matters.

Subsection (6) provides that regulations made under this section shall be subject to negative resolution procedure.

Section 7 - Minor and consequential amendments and repeals

Section 7 makes a number of consequential amendments to the Children Order.

Subsection (1) provides that the Children Order will have effect subject to the amendments and repeals set out in subsections (2) to (6) of this section.

Subsection (2) amends Article 2(8) of the Children Order to ensure that the accommodation provided to care leavers under Articles 34C and 35B is not regarded as accommodation used by authorities for the purposes of accommodating looked after children.

Subsection (3) updates the statutory references in Article 18(5)(a) of the Children Order by adding the new services in Articles 34C to 34E and 35A and 35B to the list of services which authorities are required to facilitate others to provide (particularly voluntary organisations).

Subsection (4) repeals Articles 36 and 37 of the Children Order.

Subsection (5) makes provision for authorities to recoup costs from each other in respect of services provided (following a request for co-operation under Article 46(2) of the Children Order) for children who fall to each other's responsibility. The subsection amends Article 46 to take into account the new concept of responsible authority. It does this by amending paragraph (4) and inserting a new paragraph (4A). Paragraph (4A) provides that following a request under Article 46(2) of the Children Order, one authority may recover reasonable expenses from another. This ability to recoup costs applies in the case of "relevant" and "former relevant children" and those who, having been looked after at any time after reaching the age of 16, are being helped under Article 35 of the Children Order.

Subsection (6) amends paragraph 2(1)(a) of Schedule 2 to the Children Order by adding the new services in Articles 34C to 34E and 35A and 35B to the list of those services about which an authority is obliged to publish information. It also adds these new services to the list of services which Health and Social Services Boards are required to review and include in their Children's Services Plans.

Section 8 - Interpretation

Section 8 defines the term "the Children Order" which is used throughout the Act.

Section 9 - Short title and commencement

Subsection (1) sets out the title of the Act.

Subsection (2) deals with the commencement of the Act. It gives the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety the power to make a commencement order to bring sections 1 to 5 and 7 of the Act into operation on such day as it may decide.

Subsection (3) deals with the commencement of section 6 of the Act. It gives the Department for Social Development the power to make a commencement order to bring section 6 into operation on such day as it may decide.

Subsection (4) permits commencement orders made under subsections (2) and (3) to include transitional, consequential or savings provisions of existing legislation as the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety or the Department for Social Development consider necessary.