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...

Welsh local authority duties to looked-after children: care planning, IRO, contact and placements; support for care leavers (Categories 1–6), pathway plans, personal advisers and UASC

Published by a LexisNexis Local Government expert

Practice notes

This Practice Note is intended for solicitors employed by, or advising, Children’s Services teams within local authorities in Wales. It deals exclusively with the body of law applicable in Wales. For the law as it stands in England, regard should be had to Local authority duties to children—overview, and the Practice Notes referred to below. It constitutes the third in a series of three Practice Notes addressing children’s social care in Wales. For guidance on child protection in Wales, see Practice Note: Local authority duties to children in Wales—child protection; and for information on providing accommodation for children, see Practice Note: Local authority powers and duties to provide accommodation for children in Wales.

Duties towards looked after children

In the Welsh context, looked after children (LAC) are those subject to a care order, or those provided with accommodation pursuant to any of a local authority’s social services functions. For information on local authority duties owed to LAC in England, see Practice Note: Local authority duties towards children looked after by them...

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Web page updated on 26/05/2026

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