The Scottish Ministers have made the Cross-border Placement of Children (Requirements, Effect and Enforcement) (Scotland) Regulations 2026 (SSI 2026/31), using powers in section 33A of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 and sections 190 and 195 of the Children’s Hearings (Scotland) Act 2011. The instrument was made on 21 January 2026 and comes into force on 9 February 2026. It establishes how children from England, Wales or Northern Ireland may be placed in Scotland and how external orders take legal effect here.
The regime hinges on legal recognition. Specified orders from England, Wales and Northern Ireland operate in Scotland as if they were compulsory supervision orders (CSOs) for defined purposes. This provides lawful authority to place a child in residential care or with a foster carer, to exercise rights and responsibilities under the originating order, and to require compliance with any conditions set by the issuing court or authority.
Orders covered include care, interim care, supervision and education supervision orders under the Children Act 1989 and the Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1995. Deprivation of liberty orders issued by the High Court in England and Wales or the High Court of Justice in Northern Ireland are recognised, and voluntary arrangements under section 20 of the 1989 Act, article 21 of the 1995 Order and section 76 of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 can authorise temporary residential placements in Scotland.
Before any temporary residential placement takes effect, the placing authority must issue a formal notice and an undertaking in the prescribed form and send them to the receiving Health Board, the registered manager, the chief social work officer and chief education officer, the Scottish Ministers, the chief constable of Police Scotland and the Care Inspectorate. An officer must visit and assess the setting in advance, or consult the registered manager in urgent cases, and record the assessment in writing. The care home service must be registered with the Care Inspectorate.
If the legal basis changes after a child is already placed, the new order takes effect in Scotland for three working days as if it were a CSO while updated information is issued. Ongoing effect then depends on compliance with update requirements; where the new basis is a deprivation of liberty order, the originating court must review and continue that order at least every three months for it to remain effective in Scotland.
Routine moves between registered residential settings are permitted once suitability is assessed and recorded. Separately, the chief social work officer may direct an urgent transfer from a specified setting if this is necessary in the interests of the child or another child; the existing order applies in the new setting for up to 14 days, or until a scheduled deprivation of liberty review concludes if that occurs sooner.
Oversight is tightly timetabled. A social worker must visit within one week of the initial placement or any transfer, then at intervals of no more than six weeks. Additional visits are required on reasonable request by the child, those holding parental rights or the registered manager, and within one week if the Care Inspectorate issues an improvement notice for the relevant service.
Reviews follow a set schedule. The first ongoing residential placement review must occur within one month of placement, the second within three months of the first, and subsequent reviews at intervals of no more than six months. Reviews must also be convened promptly if welfare is not being adequately safeguarded, if the child is persistently absent from the setting, or if the receiving authority or manager raises risk of harm.
The content of reviews is specified. The placing authority must consider whether the placement remains suitable, whether contact, education, health and identity needs are met, whether safeguarding concerns have emerged and whether changes to the legal basis or setting are required. The child’s wishes and feelings must be sought where appropriate, and responsibilities for implementing decisions must be clearly assigned and monitored by senior managers.
Scottish Ministers must, where appropriate and as soon as reasonably practicable, inform the child about available children’s advocacy services when a placement is made or changed. Ministers may contract for these services with organisations other than local authorities, Children’s Hearings Scotland or SCRA to support children in expressing their needs and views to the registered manager.
Cross-border foster placements are recognised on equivalent terms. Before placing a child with a foster carer in Scotland, the placing fostering authority must notify the specified Scottish bodies, assess the suitability of the carer and accommodation, and enter a written agreement with the foster carer covering training, complaint handling, financial arrangements, liabilities, visits, review schedules, contact and essential information. Moves to a new address or to a different foster carer require reassessment and updated notifications.
Where a court changes the legal basis of a foster placement, the new relevant order takes effect in Scotland for three working days while information is updated; continued effect then depends on compliance with update requirements. Moves between fostering and residential care are regulated: where the order remains the same, the relevant pre-conditions for the new setting must be met; where a new order underpins the move, the three‑day rule applies and deprivation of liberty orders must continue to be reviewed at least every three months.
Placing authorities retain substantive responsibilities. For residential placements they must comply with order conditions, ensure regular visits and conduct periodic reviews. For fostering placements they must comply with order requirements, secure necessary services, meet placement costs and deliver visits and reviews under the written agreement. Authorities must also investigate compliance with order conditions and take reasonable steps where breaches are identified.
Compliance is enforceable. If a placing local authority or placing fostering authority fails to meet specified duties, Scottish Ministers may issue a notice detailing the breach and, if the duty is not performed within 21 days, apply by summary application to the relevant sheriff for an order. Any sheriff’s order requiring performance is final. The Regulations also apply and modify parts of the Children’s Hearings (Scotland) Act 2011 on enforcement and absconding and confirm that, for these purposes, a child is a person under 18.
The instrument provides a route for permanent transfers. With the necessary consents, care, supervision and education supervision orders from England, Wales or Northern Ireland can have effect in Scotland as CSOs, with the host local authority acting as the implementation authority. Where such a review is initiated, a children’s hearing must be arranged to take place within 20 working days of notice to the Principal Reporter.
The Regulations revoke the 2013 transfer instrument and the 2022 deprivation of liberty instrument, with savings and transitional provisions. Deprivation of liberty orders already recognised under the 2022 instrument continue for the previously defined relevant period if still in force and the child has not become subject to an interim or full CSO. Where accommodation continues beyond that period, the case is treated as a new initial residential placement under the 2026 Regulations. Impact assessments have been prepared and are available from the Scottish Government.