Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Related legal acts

Key definition

Local authority definition

What does Local authority mean? In legal practice, a local authority is the elected council that provides local government for a defined area, exercising statutory functions including planning, housing, social care, education, highways, environmental health, licensing, and the collection of council tax or rates. The expression appears widely in legislation and case law; its precise scope is set by the relevant statute. England: county councils and district councils (including metropolitan boroughs), unitary authorities, London Boroughs and the Common Council of the City of London; parish and town councils are local authorities at the most local tier. Wales: unitary county and county borough councils. Scotland: the...

Advice and assistance duties to looked-after children, care leavers and qualifying persons under the Children Act 1989 and Children and Social Work Act 2017 (England)

Published by a LexisNexis Local Government expert

Practice notes

Practice Note

Please note that this Practice Note addresses the law as it presently applies in England. In Wales, the legal position is governed by the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 together with its associated statutory instruments. For further reading and detail, see the Practice Note: Local authority duties to looked after children in Wales. This Note aims to support practitioners in understanding local authority obligations towards children and young people who may qualify for advice and assistance, i.e. relevant children.

The material will be of use to practitioners who:

act on behalf of local authorities
represent parents or guardians in care proceedings involving a child aged 16 or 17
advise looked after young people about the duties owed to them by the local authority
advise on, or prepare for, Judicial review of a local authority for failing to fulfil their duties under the different legislation

The initial task is to determine whether a child or young person meets the criteria for advice and assistance and, if so, what advice and assistance that child or young person is entitled to...

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Rebecca Davies

Field Court Chambers

Rebecca works across all areas of family law, including child abduction, relocation, matrimonial finance, and public and private children law. Before coming to the bar, Rebecca worked on death-row cases as an intern for the Gulf Region Advocacy Centre in Houston, Texas. She has worked in different jurisdictions, including as an intern in Vietnam, and a judicial marshall in Hong Kong.Rebecca enjoys travelling and watching all forms of sport, and loves to combine the two!...

Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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