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Child Care Solicitors

What is Parental Responsibility (5 September 2012)

Date: 05/09/2012
Duncan Lewis, Child Care Solicitors, What is Parental Responsibility

Parental responsibility is defined in 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”. In more practical terms, having parental responsibility for a child means having a duty to care for and protect the child and having the responsibility of making important decisions in a child’s life and regarding the child’s future, such as those in relation to education, religion and medical treatment.

A mother automatically has parental responsibility for her child from birth. For children whose births were registered from 1 December 2003 in England and Wales, parental responsibility rests with both parents, provided they are named on the birth certificate, regardless of whether they are married or not. Where the parents are married, the father will also automatically acquire parental responsibility. Unmarried fathers and fathers whose names are not registered on their child’s birth certificate can acquire parental responsibility in any one of the following 5 ways:

  • By entering into a ‘parental responsibility agreement’ with the mother

  • By applying to the court for a parental responsibility order

  • By obtaining a residence order from the court

  • By being appointed a guardian either by the mother or the court, although in these cases he will assume parental responsibility only on the mother’s death

  • By marrying the mother


More than one person can have parental responsibility for a child at the same time and there is no limit to the number of people who can have parental responsibility at any one time. A local authority will acquire parental responsibility if a care order is made in relation to the child. In theory, the parents will still retain parental responsibility should this happen. In practice, however, the local authority is given the discretion to determine the extent to which a parent may meet his or her parental responsibility.

When parental responsibility is shared in this way, each person ought to be consulted about important decisions in the child’s life, such as those relating to education, religion and health. However, it is possible for each to act alone with no duty to consult anyone else. This is not the case for some very specific decisions, such as changing a child’s name or removing the child from the court’s jurisdiction. If an agreement on such issues cannot be reached, the matter should be referred to the court for the court’s determination.

It is not possible to transfer or surrender parental responsibility, however parental responsibility is lost when the child reaches 18 years of age, when a person with parental responsibility dies, when another person adopts the child or it is brought to an end on application to the court by the person who has it.

Author – Emma Good is a Family & Child Care Caseworker at Legal 500 Duncan Lewis’ Tooting Branch.


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