Commentary on Sections Part 2 – Amendments of the Children Act 1989 Section 113: Section 8 orders: local authority foster parents
269.Section 113 amends section 9 of the Children Act 1989. Section 9(3) provides that local authority foster carers may not seek leave of the court to apply for a section 8 order (including a residence order) in respect of a child unless they have the consent of the local authority, they are a relative of the child, or the child has been living with them for three years.  This section replaces the period of three years in section 9(3) with a one year period. This is intended to align the position with the residence requirement for local authority foster carers who wish to adopt a child living with them (see section 42(4) and 44(4)).