A Parents’ Guide: What Do I Need To Know About Parental Responsibility?

“What is parental responsibility?”, “PR – what is that?”, “Who has it?”, “Do I need it?”, “Should I have it?”. “How do I get it?” These are all questions we frequently get asked. In this month’s blog, Trainee Solicitor Matthew Light begins his series on parental responsibility by taking you through what it means for parents.

The questions above are more often than not being asked at particularly challenging episodes in people’s lives. Whether it is due to a separation or ongoing social services involvement with your family, a solid grasp of parental responsibility is important for any parent or carer. There are four key questions parents need answering: What is it, who has it, do you, and how is it be obtained?

Question 1 – What Is It?

Parental responsibility (Sometimes abbreviated to “PR”) is defined in section 3(1) of the Children Act 1989 (legislation.gov.uk) as all the rights, duties, powers and responsibilities and authority that, by law, a parent of a child has in relation to the child and their property, such as:

1. The right and duty to care for the child
2. To determine where the child should live
3. To ensure that if the child receives appropriate education
4. To consent to medical treatment for the child
5. To remove the child from the jurisdiction
6. To make decisions about their religious upbringing

Question 2 – Who Has It?

Mothers who give birth to children automatically have parental responsibility for their children. Fathers also have parental responsibility if they are married to the mother at the time of birth, or if they are named on the birth certificate. You will have noticed that an unmarried father who is not named on the child’s birth certificate does not have parental responsibility.

Question 3 – Do I Need It?

Having Parental Responsibility is also important to you. It gives you the legal authority to make decisions about important aspects of your child’s life. It is important that the person providing day-to-day care for a child has the legal right to make decisions on the child’s behalf. You may find that schools, GP surgeries and other agencies are unwilling to discuss your child with you if you do not have parental responsibility.

Question 4 – How Do I Get It?

If you are an unmarried father, you have three ways of gaining parental responsibility:

1. Being named as the father on the child’s birth certificate when the birth is initially registered.
2. By entering into a “parental responsibility agreement” with their child’s mother.
3. By applying to the court for a “parental responsibility order”.

Join me again in my next blog, when I will be looking at other aspects of parental responsibility and how it may be gained and exercised by people other than a child’s biological parents.

Matthew Light
June 2021