Commentary on Sections Visiting Section 16: Independent visitors for children looked after by local authority
83.Section 16 replaces paragraph 17 of Schedule 2 to the 1989 Act, extending the group of looked after children for whom an independent person must be appointed to visit, befriend and advise the child to include all those for whom an appointment would be in their interests. The appropriate national authority may by regulations extend those to whom the duty is owed to other prescribed groups of looked after children (subsection (1)(a)).
84.Subsection (9) allows regulations to be made to describe what is required for a visitor to be regarded as “independent”.  This re-enacts the existing power in paragraph 17(7) of Schedule 2 to the 1989 Act, under which the Definition of Independent Visitors (Children) Regulations 1991 are made.