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Welfare Reform Bill

My Lords, this group of amendments was first tabled in Committee but subsequently withdrawn following some confusion about the wording of the Births and Deaths Registration Act 1953, which they amend. That issue was clarified by my noble friend Lord McKenzie of Luton in his letter of 17 July, a copy of which may be found in the Library. These are technical amendments, necessary to effect new Sections 2B, 2C and 2D in the Births and Deaths Registration Act 1953. These sections cover the processes to be followed in cases where unmarried parents are acting separately, because they cannot or will not register jointly in the usual, co-operative way. I explained in Committee the background to these proposals so I shall try not to repeat myself unnecessarily today. In brief, the amendments seek to ensure that the processes to be followed by parents under our new proposals are as streamlined as possible. Under the joint birth registration provisions, most parents will register together, as they do now. However, in those exceptional cases when parents cannot or will not register the birth together, they may be required to provide information separately to the registrar. In some of these cases, the mother will give the registrar her required information in advance of the father providing his details. At this time, she will also give details of the father to the registrar, so that the registrar can contact him and require him to co-operate with the registration process. These amendments ensure that the mother will not be required to return again to the register office to sign the register once the father has been contacted. Instead, she will discharge her duty to sign the register by signing a declaration when she first attends. Therefore, when the birth is registered, once the father’s information has been obtained, the entry will be considered to have been signed by the mother. We are currently in the process of developing detailed regulations—in close co-operation with the General Register Office—and it is essential that our regulation-making powers are sufficiently flexible to enable us to develop processes that are as straightforward as possible for those involved, particularly the parents themselves. We wish to avoid introducing, through these proposals, any unnecessary burdens for parents or registrars. For that reason, I beg to move. Amendment 85 agreed. Amendments 86 and 87 Moved by