Children (Criminal Proceedings) Act 1987

This section applies to a person—

who has pleaded guilty to an offence (other than contempt of court) in, or has been found guilty or convicted of an offence (other than contempt of court) by, a court,

who was a child when the offence was committed, and

who was under the age of 21 years when charged before the court with the offence.

A court shall not sentence a person to whom this section applies to a term of imprisonment, or make an order under section 33 (1) (g) in respect of the person, in connection with an offence unless—

a background report, prepared in accordance with the regulations, has been tendered in evidence with respect to the circumstances surrounding the commission of the offence, and

copies of the report have been given to the child and any other person appearing in the proceedings, and

the court has, subject to the rules of evidence, taken into account the matters contained in the report and any submissions made in relation to those matters by the persons referred to in paragraph (b).