Summary
The current law automatically assumes married couples will
be jointly registered on their child's birth certificate whereas unmarried
parents both have to agree before a father's name can appear on the birth
certificate.
Sole registrations in England and Wales account for around
7% of birth registrations each year. They are often linked to social exclusion
as mothers who register solely are likely to be younger, poorer, and with lower
levels of educational attainment than those who jointly register.
Research indicates that fathers who officially acknowledge the birth of
their child from the outset are more likely to stay in contact with that child
if their relationship with the child's mother breaks down. Joint birth
registration measures, which require fathers to acknowledge paternity at birth,
could also underpin current cross-government work to improve parenting.
This Green Paper
'Joint
Birth Registration: Promoting Parental Responsibility' (Cm. 7160) sets out
the Government's proposals to establish a new legislative requirement for joint
registration of births, together with safeguards designed to protect the
welfare of children and vulnerable mothers.
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How does it affect
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If you are concerned about the welfare of children and vulnerable
parents, this may be of interest to you.
The proposed changes seek to
promote a culture in which the welfare of children is paramount and which
places more equal weight on the relationship of both parents with their
children.
Together with the reforms of the child maintenance system set
out in the Government's White Paper
'A
New System of Child Maintenance' (Cm. 6979), these proposals re-affirm the
rights and responsibilities of parenthood for mothers and fathers, to ensure
the best possible outcomes for children.
Comments can be contributed:
please send comments by 25 September 2007 to
joint.birthregistration@dwp.gsi.gov.uk.
Contribute to the DWP
Joint Birth Registration
consultation.