Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the implications for his Department's policies of the declaration by Sir James Munby in the matter of Z (A Child) (No. 2), on 20 May 2016, that sections 54(1) and (2) of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008 are incompatible with rights under Article 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights taken in conjunction with Article 8.

The Government has accepted the judgment by Sir James Munby from the High Court. We will be looking to update the legislation on Parental Orders, and are now considering how best to do this.