Section 26: Contact, Adoption and Children Act 2002

On an adoption agency being authorised to place a child for adoption, or placing a child for adoption who is less than six weeks old—

any contact provision in a child arrangements order under section 8 of the 1989 Act ceases to have effect,

any order under section 34 of that Act (parental etc contact with children in care) ceases to have effect, and

any activity direction made in proceedings for the making, variation or discharge of a child arrangements order with respect to the child, or made in other proceedings that relate to such an order, is discharged.

While an adoption agency is so authorised or a child is placed for adoption—

no application may be made for—

a child arrangements order under section 8 of the 1989 Act containing contact provision, or

an order under section 34 of that Act, but

the court may make an order under this section requiring the person with whom the child lives, or is to live, to allow the child to visit or stay with the person named in the order, or for the person named in the order and the child otherwise to have contact with each other.

An application for an order under this section may be made by—

the child or the agency,

any parent, guardian or relative,

any person in whose favour there was provision ... which ceased to have effect by virtue of subsection (1)(a) or an order which ceased to have effect by virtue of subsection (1)(b),

if a child arrangements order was in force immediately before the adoption agency was authorised to place the child for adoption or (as the case may be) placed the child for adoption at a time when he was less than six weeks old, any person named in the order as a person with whom the child was to live,

if a person had care of the child immediately before that time by virtue of an order made in the exercise of the High Court’s inherent jurisdiction with respect to children, that person,

any person who has obtained the court’s leave to make the application.

When making a placement order, the court may on its own initiative make an order under this section.

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In this section “contact provision” means provision which regulates arrangements relating to—

with whom a child is to spend time or otherwise have contact, or

when a child is to spend time or otherwise have contact with any person;

but in paragraphs (a) and (b) a reference to spending time or otherwise having contact with a person is to doing that otherwise than as a result of living with the person.

In this section “activity direction” has the meaning given by section 11A of the 1989 Act.

Section 26: Contact

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