Keyword

Parental Responsibility

This definition is taken from the Children & Young People Act 2001

Section 2: Meaning of 'parental responsibility'

1. In this Act, and in any enactment passed or made after the 19th March 1991, "parental responsibility", in relation to a child, -
   1. Means 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; and
   2. Includes the rights, powers and duties which a guardian of the child's estate appointed to act generally would have had in relation to the child and his property, including in particular the right to receive or recover in his own name, for the benefit of the child, property of whatever description and wherever situated which the child is entitled to receive or recover.
2. More than one person may have parental responsibility for a child at the same time;
3. A person who has parental responsibility for a child at any time does not cease to have that responsibility solely because some other person subsequently acquires parental responsibility for the child;
4. The fact that a person has parental responsibility for a child does not entitle him to act in any way which would be incompatible with an order made with respect to the child under this Act or any other enactment;
5. The fact that a person has, or does not have, parental responsibility for a child does not affect -
   1. Any obligation which he may have in relation to the child (such as a statutory duty to maintain the child); or
   2. Any rights which, in the event of the child's death, he or any other person may have in relation to the child's property;
6. If a person has care of a child but does not have parental responsibility for him, he may (subject to the provisions of this Act) do what is reasonable in all the circumstances of the case for the purpose of safeguarding or promoting the child's welfare.

Section 3: Parental responsibility for children

1. The mother and father of a child who is a marital child each have parental responsibility for the child;
2. The mother of a child who is not a marital child has parental responsibility for the child, but the father does not have parental responsibility for the child unless he acquires it in accordance with this Act;
3. Where more than one person has parental responsibility for a child, each of them may act alone and without the other (or others) in meeting that responsibility; but nothing in this Part shall be taken as affecting the operation of any enactment requiring the consent of more than one person in a matter affecting the child;
4. A person who has parental responsibility for a child may not surrender or transfer any part of that responsibility to another, but may arrange for some or all of it to be met by one or more persons acting on his behalf (who may be a person who already has parental responsibility for the child);
5. The making of any such arrangement does not affect any liability of the person making it which may arise from any failure to meet any part of his parental responsibility for the child.

Section 4: Acquisition of parental responsibility by natural father

1. The court may, on the application of the father of a child who is not a marital child, order that he shall have parental responsibility for the child;
2. The father and mother of a child who is not a marital child may by agreement (a "parental responsibility agreement") provide for the father to have parental responsibility for the child, but no such agreement shall have effect for the purposes of this Act unless -
   1. It is made in the form prescribed by rules of court; and
   2. Where rules of court are made prescribing the manner in which such agreements must be recorded, it is recorded in the prescribed manner.
3. Subject to section 16(1), an order under subsection (1) may only be revoked, and a parental responsibility agreement may only be terminated, by an order of the court made on the application -
   1. Of any person who has parental responsibility for the child; or
   2. With the leave of the court, of the child himself.
4. The court shall not grant leave under subsection (3)(b) unless it is satisfied that the child has sufficient understanding to make the proposed application;
5. A parental responsibility agreement continues in force until the child reaches the age of 18, unless it is terminated earlier;
6. In this section "the court" means the High Court or a court of summary jurisdiction, and any power to vary or revoke an order under this section may be exercised by the court whether the order was made by that or any other court.