16 year old removed?

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Shaftesbury
Posts: 48
Joined: Thu Jan 29, 2015 7:08 pm

16 year old removed?

Post by Shaftesbury » Mon Mar 08, 2021 5:22 pm

Please could somebody advise if a child aged 16 can be removed from a parent's care and placed elsewhere? What happens if they don't go, or if they simply return 'home'. Would the parent be arrested or the child taken away by the police?

Apologies if I sound naïve.

Just wondering at what age it becomes difficult to remove a child from a parent's care please.

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Suzie, FRG Adviser
Posts: 4210
Joined: Mon Jul 04, 2011 2:57 pm

Re: 16 year old removed?

Post by Suzie, FRG Adviser » Mon Mar 15, 2021 5:05 pm

Dear Shaftsbury,

Welcome back to the Parents Forum.
Under s20 Children Act 1989, (accommodation-when there is no court order) a 16 year old can consent to being placed in care against the parent’s wishes. The parent’s consent is not needed, and a parent then cannot remove a 16 year old from care. Please see our information about accommodation.

A full care order cannot be made if a child is 17 or older but can be made on a 16 year old (unless he is married). A care order gives the local authority legal parental responsibility so allows a local authority to remove a child from the parents at the age of 16. However, this is will not happen, if the 16 year old disagrees. There are some court orders such as secure accommodation orders, where a child can be removed from a parent’s home and taken to a secure accommodation, but this is when a child is a danger to himself or is dangerous to others. There are also orders under the Mental Health Act and related legislation where this might happen but this is not an area I can advise upon.
Kind regards,
Suzie

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