Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Related legal acts

Key definition

Looked after child definition

What does Looked after child mean? In practice, a looked after child is a child for whom the state, through a local authority (or a Health and Social Care Trust in Northern Ireland), provides care or ongoing accommodation, either under a court order or by voluntary agreement. In England, the term is defined in the Children Act 1989, s.22: a child is “looked after” if in care (for example under a care order or interim care order) or accommodated by the authority (including section 20 accommodation). Wales adopts an equivalent definition in the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 (Part 6). In Scotland, “looked after”...

Contact with Children in Care: Local Authority Duties and Court Powers under the Children Act 1989, including Leave, Suspension and Variation

Published by a LexisNexis Family expert

Practice notes

Children in care

Children in care sit within a sub-category of the broader group of ‘looked after’ children. The parallel sub-category consists of children accommodated under most of the other social services functions operated by the Local authority. A child is regarded as being in the care of a local authority when subject to a Care order, and this extends to a child under an interim care order. In England, there are three sets of children who, although accommodated under social services functions in the Children Act 1989 (ChA 1989), are not classed as looked after. These are children accommodated under:

the general duty on local authorities to provide services to children in need, their families and others under ChA 1989, s 17
the duties towards children who have left care, including pathway plans, under ChA 1989, s 23B
the duties towards children who have left care, providing assistance with education, employment and training under ChA 1989, s 24B

In Wales, five categories of children accommodated under social services functions in the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 (SSW(W)A 2014) are likewise not treated as ‘looked after’...

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Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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