When a child is subject to an interim care order or full care order, the Local Authority shares parental responsibility for that child and sometimes the child will be placed in foster care. Parental responsibility allows the Local Authority to have decision making powers about where a child should live, their care arrangements and their general welfare. The Local Authority’s parental responsibility is predominant to a parents’ responsibility under section 33 Children Act 1989 and therefore this gives the Local Authority the power to override the parents in the event that this is necessary to safeguard the welfare of a child.
Can My Child Go On Holiday With Their Foster Carer?
Quite often, especially during the school holidays the foster carers will wish to take the children on holiday with them, either in the country of residence or outside of the country. This can often be quite upsetting for parents as they have a lot of worry and stress about anything happening to their child outside of their control and also the child may not have enjoyed a holiday before with parents’ therefore this could be a first, memorable experience in a child’s lifetime which parents naturally want to share with their child. Under section 33 (7)(b) Children Act 1989 this provides that:
“ When a care order is in force with respect to a child, no person may remove him from the UK […] without either the written consent of every person who has parental responsibility for the child or the leave of the Court”.
However, under section 33(8)(a) Children Act 1989, the provision says that a child can be removed from the UK by the Local Authority whose care he is in without the consent of all those with parental responsibility providing the period was less than one month.
How Long Can My Child Go For?
So legally, the Local Authority can agree to foster carers taking a child on holiday within the UK for any specified time period within school holidays or even outside of the UK providing the holiday is for a period of less than a month as this would be within the remit of the Local Authority exercising their parental responsibility for a child. If the proposed holiday is outside of the UK for a period over 28 days then the written consent of all those with parental responsibility is required and failing this, the Local Authority would need to seek the permission of the Court.
What If I Object?
If parents strongly object to the holiday taking place and the child is subject to an interim care order then parents would need to make an application to return the matter back to Court for the Court to make a decision on this issue under the existing care proceedings. It is highly unlikely that the Court will prevent a child from going on holiday with their foster carers without good reason. One scenario whereby the Court may consider that the child should not be taken on holiday by their foster carers is if they have health needs and the holiday would mean that the children would not be able to access the appropriate treatment/ facilities that their health needs would require.
It is however good practice for parents to be consulted in respect of this decision and their views obtained. A holiday for the child also has to be balanced with the Local Authority’s duty to promote contact with a child and parents. This means that the Local Authority should give consideration to making up any missed contact with a child and their parents during the holiday period.
If you need any further advice or guidance, please contact me on 01283 561531 or via email at m.knight@timms-law.com.