The Human Fertilisation and Embryology (Parental Orders) Regulations 2010

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations which apply to England and Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland are made under the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008.

These Regulations apply, with modifications, certain sections of the Adoption and Children Act 2002 (“the 2002 Act”) (in regulation 2 and Schedule 1), Articles of the Adoption (Northern Ireland) Order 1987 (“the 1987 Order”) (in regulation 3 and Schedule 2) and sections of the Adoption and Children (Scotland) Act 2007 (“the 2007 Act”) (in regulation 3 and Schedule 3) to give effect to the arrangements by which a parental order may be obtained under section 54 of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008 in England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Such an order may be granted by a court in respect of a child who is born as a result of a surrogacy arrangement and who is the genetic child of at least one of the applicants for the parental order.

Provision is made at Schedule 4 to these Regulations for references, in enactments listed in column 1, to adoption, adopted child or an adoptive relationship to be read as including a reference to parental orders made under section 54 of the 2008 Act and for the purposes of paragraphs 1, 17 and 18 of Schedule 4, it also includes a reference to parental orders made under section 30 of the 1990 Act.

A full Impact Assessment of the effect that this instrument will have on the costs of businesses and the voluntary sector is available from the Department of Health website and is annexed to the Explanatory Memorandum which is available alongside the instrument on the OPSI website.