Children Act 1989
E522893
The Children Act 1989 is a key piece of UK legislation that sets out the framework for the care, protection, and welfare of children, emphasizing their best interests and parental responsibilities.
Statements (75)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom
ⓘ
children’s legislation ⓘ |
| amendedBy |
Adoption and Children Act 2002
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Children Act 2004 NERFINISHED ⓘ Children and Families Act 2014 NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| appliesTo | children under 18 ⓘ |
| citation | 1989 c. 41 ⓘ |
| commencement | 1991-10-14 ⓘ |
| country | United Kingdom ⓘ |
| definesConcept |
care order
ⓘ
child in need ⓘ contact order ⓘ emergency protection order ⓘ looked after child ⓘ parental responsibility ⓘ prohibited steps order ⓘ residence order ⓘ significant harm ⓘ specific issue order ⓘ supervision order ⓘ |
| emphasizes |
best interests of the child
ⓘ
keeping children within their families where safe ⓘ minimum necessary intervention by the state ⓘ |
| focusesOn |
child protection
ⓘ
family support ⓘ private law children proceedings ⓘ public law children proceedings ⓘ |
| governs |
care proceedings
ⓘ
emergency child protection procedures ⓘ local authority duties towards children in need ⓘ local authority duties towards looked after children ⓘ private disputes about children between parents ⓘ supervision proceedings ⓘ |
| imposesDutyOn |
courts in family proceedings
ⓘ
local authorities ⓘ parents ⓘ |
| jurisdiction | England and Wales ⓘ |
| keyPrinciple |
no order principle
ⓘ
parental responsibility rather than parental rights ⓘ partnership between parents and local authorities ⓘ the child’s welfare is the court’s paramount consideration ⓘ |
| legalSystem |
English law
ⓘ
Welsh law NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| legislature | Parliament of the United Kingdom NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| longTitle | An Act to reform the law relating to children; to provide for local authority services for children in need and others; to amend the law with respect to children’s homes, community homes, voluntary homes and voluntary organisations; to make provision with respect to fostering, child minding and day care for young children and adoption; and for connected purposes. NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| part |
Part I – Introductory
ⓘ
Part II – Orders with respect to children in family proceedings ⓘ Part III – Local authority support for children and families ⓘ Part IV – Care and supervision ⓘ Part IX – Private fostering ⓘ Part V – Protection of children ⓘ Part VI – Community homes ⓘ Part VII – Voluntary homes and voluntary organisations ⓘ Part VIII – Child minding and day care for young children ⓘ Part X – Registered children’s homes ⓘ Part XI – Miscellaneous and general ⓘ |
| primaryObjective | welfare of the child ⓘ |
| reformedAreaOfLaw |
child care law
ⓘ
private family law relating to children ⓘ public child welfare law ⓘ |
| relatedTo |
Adoption and Children Act 2002
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Children Act 2004 NERFINISHED ⓘ Children and Families Act 2014 NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| royalAssentDate | 1989-11-16 ⓘ |
| section |
Section 1 – Welfare of the child
ⓘ
Section 17 – Provision of services for children in need ⓘ Section 20 – Provision of accommodation for children ⓘ Section 3 – Parental responsibility NERFINISHED ⓘ Section 31 – Care and supervision orders ⓘ Section 44 – Emergency protection orders ⓘ Section 47 – Local authority’s duty to investigate ⓘ Section 8 – Child arrangements and related orders ⓘ |
| shortTitle | Children Act 1989 NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| status | in force ⓘ |
| yearEnacted | 1989 ⓘ |
Referenced by (4)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.