Draft Human Fertilisation and Emryology Act 2008 (Remedial) Order 2018 Draft Human Fertilisation and Emryology (Parental Orders) Regulations 2018

Sharon Hodgson Excerpts

Tuesday 18th December 2018 General Committees

[Mrs Sharon Hodgson (Washington and Sunderland West) (Lab)]

It is indeed a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Evans. The Minister and I shared a phone conversation about this issue earlier this year; I believe it was sometime in the summer. I told her then that I would support the Government in this change and I remain committed to that today. I know that the Government have been keen to get this right. It is a shame that it has taken so long for the measure to be brought forward. Sadly, Brexit seems to get in the way of everything at the moment.

In May 2016, as we have heard, the High Court ruled that the inability of a single person to obtain a parental order was incompatible with the European convention on human rights. The Government rightly confirmed in December 2016 that they would lay a remedial order before Parliament, but with the referendum and then a general election and Brexit business in-between, we are now only just getting to debate the revised draft of the remedial order.

I understand that a draft remedial order was tabled in November 2017, but that the Joint Committee on Human Rights said that a blanket ban on a person

“who is in a couple getting a single parental order is clumsy and inflexible, as well as discriminatory”,

and, in relation to the requirement for a single person still married or in a civil partnership to prove that a separation from a partner was permanent, that that would be

“difficult or impossible to prove to the Courts”.

The Government’s revised remedial order has addressed the JCHR’s concerns, and it has advised that there are now no reasons why this order should not be agreed by both Houses of Parliament. However, I would like to place a couple of questions on the record, which I hope the Minister will be able to address when she concludes the debate.

First, when will single people be able to apply for a parental order? As the Minister will be aware, many people have already been waiting years for the legislation to come forward and so will be very eager to start a family of their own. Can she provide an update on what this will mean for surrogacy and adoption legislation? I know that the Law Commission is looking into the matter as part of a three-year review, but I am sure that if the Minister could please update us on it as soon as possible, that would be helpful to families and campaigners.

Has the Department made any assessment of unintended consequences to the way parental orders operate as a result of these measures? Applications for parental orders can be made six weeks after the birth of a child and are made to the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service—CAFCASS—for a court fee of £215. Has the Government made any recent assessment of the cost of the court fee and any accessibility issues that it may cause?

The Minister recently said:

“The order will allow a six-month period where an existing sole applicant can retrospectively apply for a parental order for a child born through surrogacy.”—[Official Report, 19 July 2018; Vol. 645, c. 38WS.]

Currently, applications can be made six weeks after birth. Why has a six-month period been chosen for retrospective applications, and has any assessment been made of the impact that that could have on the surrogate mother, parents and child?

As I have said, I support the Government in making these changes, so I am happy to end my remarks there.