Residence and Contact

Residence and Contact (Cont...)

Parental Responsibility

Under the Children Act 1989, the concept of parental responsibility is a deliberate shift away from the idea that parents have 'rights' over their child towards the idea that they have 'responsibilities' towards their child.

The Children Act defines parental responsibility as "all the rights, duties, powers, responsibility and authority which by law a parent of a child has in relation to the child and his property". In reality, it gives the parent the responsibility for taking all the important decisions in the child's life, for example, education, religion and medical care. It also enables a parent to take day-to-day decisions, for example, in relation to nutrition, recreation and outings. The duties involved in parental responsibility will change from time to time with differing needs and circumstances and vary with age and the maturity of the child. Even if both parents have parental responsibility, it is possible for each of them to act with no duty to consult the other i.e. one parent could determine such as medical treatment, religion and education without consulting the other. The only way to challenge such a decision would be for the other parent to make an application through the courts.

In relation to unmarried parents of a child, the mother has 'sole' parental responsibility of the child although the father is classed as 'a parent' under the Children Act. The only way that the father can acquire parental responsibility is by entering into a Parental Responsibility Agreement with the mother or applying to the court for a Parental Responsibility Order. Not having parental responsibility does not cut a father off completely because the Children Act allows a father (even without parental responsibility) to apply to the court for section 8 orders i.e. residence and contact orders. Nevertheless, obtaining parental responsibility would involve the father in the upbringing of the child although, in practice, without active involvement in matters i.e. the day-to-day management of the child's life.

If a father wants to share parental responsibility with the mother and she is not willing to agree to this, the father can apply to the Court for a Parental Responsibility Order. Such an order will give joint parental responsibility to the mother and father and would place the father virtually in the same position legally as if he were married to the mother. In deciding whether to grant such an Order, the court would consider the father's degree of commitment to the child, the state of the father's current relationship with the child, whether the child has suffered at the hands of the father, the capacity of the father to meet the child's needs and the father's reasons for making an application. Such an Order, if made by the court, would come to an end when the child reaches 18, on the marriage of the father and mother or by a court order discharging the Parental Responsibility Order.

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The articles on legal topics published in these pages are for interest only and are necessarily general in their terms. You should not act (or refrain from acting) on the basis of the information given without specific advice, as the principles and laws concerned may change, and their application will vary according to the particular circumstances.