Parental responsibility

What is Parental Responsibility?

Parental Responsibility is defined under the Children Act 1989 as: “All the rights, duties, powers, responsibilities and authority which by law a parent of a child has in relation to the child and his property”.

A person with Parental Responsibility can make important decisions concerning the child.  Some examples include:

• Specifying the child’s religion;
• Deciding which school the child should attend;
• Consenting to medical treatment;
• Naming the child/changing the child’s name.

Who has Parental Responsibility?

The mother of a child has automatic parental responsibility, as does the child’s father if the parents were married at the time the child was born.

An unmarried father can acquire parental responsibility in a number of ways:

• By obtaining a Parental Responsibility Order;
• By signing a Parental Responsibility Agreement;
• By marrying the child’s mother;
• By being named in a Child Arrangements Order as the person with whom the child is living;
• By being named on the child’s birth certificate as the father of the child (after the 1st December 2003);
• By adopting the child.

A step parent can also acquire parental responsibility for a child if he is married to their parent (and their parent has parental responsibility) as follows:

• By obtaining a Parental Responsibility Order;
• By entering into a Parental Responsibility Agreement;
• By being named in a Child Arrangements Order as the person with whom the child is living with or spending time with.

Can anyone else acquire Parental Responsibility?

Yes. A local authority is automatically granted parental responsibility for a child if an Emergency Protection Order or Care Order is made.

A Guardian appointed by the parent of a child will acquire parental responsibility in the event of their death.

If a child is adopted, their adoptive parent will acquire parental responsibility.

Parental Responsibility Order

No specific guidance is provided under the Children Act to determine the basis upon which an order should be made.  However the child’s welfare is paramount and the court has to consider the “no Order principle” i.e. whether the making of an order would be better than no order being made.

Case law has also been helpful.  In the case of D v Hereford & Worcester County Council [1991] Fam 14 the court’s view was that the question to ask was:

“Can this [father] show that he is the father to the child, not in the biological sense but in the sense that he has established or is likely to establish such real family tie with the [child] that he should now be accorded the corresponding legal tie… has he behaved, or will he behave with parental responsibility for the child”.

In Re: H (Minors) (Local Authority: Parental Rights) (No.3) [1991] Fam 151, the Court of Appeal held that a number of factors should be taken into account including:

• The degree of commitment which the Applicant had shown towards the child;
• The degree of attachment which existed between them; and
• The reasons for applying for the order.

Can the Court order Parental Responsibility be terminated?

Parental responsibility can come to an end automatically in certain circumstances.  The Court can also make an order to terminate an unmarried father’s parental responsibility but only in exceptional circumstances.

For more information on the issues raised in this article please contact us.