Children Act 2004

The Children Act 2004

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long title	An Act to make provision for the establishment of a Children's Commissioner; to make provision about services provided to and for children and young people by local authorities and other persons; to make provision in relation to Wales about advisory and support services relating to family proceedings; to make provision about private fostering, child minding and day care, adoption review panels, the defence of reasonable punishment, the making of grants as respects children and families, child safety orders, the Children's Commissioner for Wales, the publication of material relating to children involved in certain legal proceedings and the disclosure by the Inland Revenue of information relating to children.
Statute book chapter	2004 c 31
Dates
Royal Assent	15 November 2004
Status:
Text of statute as originally enacted
Revised text of statute as amended

The Children Act 2004 (c 31) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

The Act amended the Children Act 1989, largely in consequence of the Victoria Climbié inquiry.

The Act is now the basis for most official administration considered helpful to children, notably bringing all local government functions of children's welfare and education under the statutory authority of local Directors of Children's Services. The Act also created the ContactPoint database.

Purpose

The Act was created with a certain set of goals. Its primary purpose was to give boundaries and help for local authorities and/or other entities to better regulate official intervention in the interests of children. The Act also made changes to laws that pertain to children, notably on foster homes, adoption agencies, babysitting services, and the handling of child-related crimes and crimes against children.

History

The long history of children's welfare legislation had given rise to numerous unco-ordinated official powers and functions, even within the same local authorities, resulting in the tragic maladministration of the Climbié case. Along with the Children Act 1989 and the Children Act 2004, there were reports in 2002, 2003, and 2004-05. Each Act has progressively attempted to improve the legal powers and official functions related to children in all forms, and to make official provision for children better and safer.

General

This Act's ultimate purpose is to make the UK better and safer for children of all ages The idea behind the Act is to promote (co-ordination) between multiple official entities to improve the overall well-being of children. The 2004 Act also specifically provided for including and affecting disabled children.

Repeals

This Act made repeals and amendments to numerous statutes:

• Children Act 1989
• Education Act 1996
• Education Act 1997
• School Standards and Framework Act 1998
• Learning and Skills Act 2000
• Adoption and Children Act 2002
• Education Act 2002
• Children and Young Persons Act 1933
• Children and Young Persons Act 1963
• Local Authority Social Services Act 1970
• Local Government Act 1972
• Mental Health Act 1983
• Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984
• Local Government and Housing Act 1989
• Criminal Justice Act 1991
• Crime (Sentences) Act 1997
• Crime and Disorder Act 1998
• Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000
• Local Government Act 2000
• Criminal Justice and Court Services Act 2000
• Criminal Justice Act 2003

Section 67 - Commencement

The following orders have been made under this section:

• The Children Act 2004 (Commencement No. 1) Order 2005 (S.I. 2005/394 (C. 18))
• The Children Act 2004 (Commencement No. 2) Order 2005 (S.I. 2005/700 (W. 59) (C. 30))
• The Children Act 2004 (Commencement No. 3) Order 2005 (S.I. 2005/847 (C. 35))
• The Children Act 2004 (Commencement No. 4 and Savings) (England) Order 2005 (S.I. 2005/2298 (C. 97))
• The Children Act 2004 (Commencement No. 5) Order 2005 (S.I. 2005/3464 (C. 145))
• The Children Act 2004 (Commencement No. 5) (Wales) Order 2005 (S.I. 2005/3363 (C. 260) (W. 143))
• The Children Act 2004 (Commencement No. 6) (Wales) Order 2006 (S.I. 2006/885 (W. 85) (C. 23))
• The Children Act 2004 (Commencement No. 7) (Wales) Order 2006 (S.I. 2006/870 (W. 80) (C. 20))
• The Children Act 2004 (Commencement No. 8) Order 2006 (S.I. 2006/927 (C. 24))
• The Children Act 2004 (Commencement No. 8) (Wales) Order 2008 (S.I. 2008/1904 (W. 182))
• The Children Act 2004 (Commencement No. 9) Order 2008 (S.I. 2008/752 (C. 33))

External links

• Children Act Report
• Description
• Explanation

UK Legislation

• Official text of the Children Act 2004 as amended and in force today within the United Kingdom, from the UK Statute Law Database
• Official text of the Children Act 2004 as originally enacted within the United Kingdom, from the UK Statute Law Database
• Explanatory notes to the Children Act 2004.