Legislation in progress

This section contains information on bills and subordinate (or secondary) legislation currently progressing through the Scottish Parliament and Westminster that affect children and young people. The section also contains information on Acts that are currently being implemented. For information on existing legislation and Acts visit the directory or use the search facility.

Draft (Partial) Immigration and Citizenship Bill, 14/07/08 [E,NI,S,W]
The Draft Bill will consolidate and simplify the current suite of immigration legislation, and is published as part of a package of documents including a public scrutiny document and consultation questionnaire asking for public comment on the broad thrust of the proposals. The Bill is ‘partial’ because a number of areas that will appear in the final Bill are still under discussion, including data sharing, medical examinations at ports, biometric information, family visits, asylum support and access to public funds. Appeals will be restricted to whether a decision was or was not in accordance with the rules and law. Clause 189 places a duty on the Secretary of State to make arrangements for ensuring that immigration and nationality functions are discharged with regard to the need to safeguard and promote the welfare of children.

Sexual Offences (Scotland) Bill, 17/06/08 [S]
The Sexual Offences (Scotland) Bill was introduced to the Scottish Parliament on 17 June 2008. The Bill will reform the law relating to rape and sexual offences and is based on proposals from the Scottish Law Commission.

Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill, 12/06/08 [E,NI,S,W]
Fourth day of Committee in the Commons. Morning session: MPs continue to debate the posthumous use of a father’s sperm/embryos. Members question the purpose of provisions that allow a man, or a female intended parent, to be recorded in the register of births as a father or parent, but otherwise not to be treated as the legal parent for other purposes in law. The Minister says that this allows for the parentage to be represented on the birth certificate, while ensuring that the measure does not make it impossible to wind up a persons estate until years after his death (probing amendments withdrawn). Government amendments, which bring the rules relating to the legitimacy of children born by assisted conception to civil partners into line with those for married couples, are passed. Other topics debated include: provisions which allow same-sex couples (like other couples) an extension of the period during which a mother may elect that her deceased partner be treated as her child’s father or parent for the purpose of birth registration; the collection of information relating to the age of same-sex parents and the date of their civil partnerships (where applicable); applications for a parental order following surrogacy for single parents or couples who are neither married nor in a civil partnership.

Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill, 12/06/08 [E,NI,S,W]
Afternoon session: MPs continue a debate about including on a child’s birth certificate the fact that he or she was donor-conceived. Mark Simmonds MP proposes an amendment providing for an annotated birth certificate or two versions of a certificate. The Minister reasserts the Government’s commitment to conduct a review, within the next four years, of practices in, and the law relating to, informing donor-conceived children of the fact of their donor conception (amendment withdrawn). Returning to surrogacy, the Minister assures MPs that provisions in the Bill prevent not-for-profit organisations from generating revenue through the initiation of surrogacy negotiations and provision of information (amendment withdrawn). MPs then debate an amendment providing for the establishment of a Parliamentary Human Fertilisation and Embryology Committee to address bio-ethical issues more broadly; the Minister says that this is a matter for Parliament as a whole (withdrawn). The Bill now moves to Report Stage.

Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill, 10/06/08 [E,NI,S,W]
Morning session: MPs continue to debate registers of information relating to fertility treatment. Mark Simmonds MP (Conservative) asks why there is a staged approach in the level of information a donor-conceived child can access – non-identifiable information at age 16 and further information at age 18 – and refers in particular to cases where sexual partners require information to ensure they are not genetically related and one or both are under the age of 18. The Minister says “I am assured that access at that point is sufficient to ensure that within the records there is no family connection”, however she commits to returning to MPs with further information on whether there are specific cases where the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority could consider that access to identifying information, or not, was in the best interests of the individual. MPs debate amendments relating to the disclosure of information and consent to the disclosure of information, including by a child or young person; a number of Government amendments are passed. Other debates relate to: fees; entry, search and seizure, including informing donors and owners of embryos of seizure; and offences relating to the use of embryos.

Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill, 10/06/08 [E,NI,S,W]
Afternoon session: MPs debate issues relating to surrogacy. An amendment proposes to exclude the rule that a married surrogate mother’s husband automatically be considered the child’s legal father, thereby making it easier for commissioning parents to obtain parental responsibility as the commissioning father would be considered the legal father. The Minister says that the legislation must not breach the principle that a woman who gives birth to a child is the legal mother and that a child born to a woman in marriage is the child of her husband. If a surrogate mother chose to keep the baby, which she has the right to do, giving the commissioning father legal parent status would open the way for the commissioning couple to claim custody (withdrawn). She commits to a governmental review of the regulations overseeing surrogacy. Other amendments relate to: the use of sperm, or transfer of embryo, after death of the man providing the sperm or the man who did not provide the sperm but was the intended father; and fertility treatment for same-sex female couples or single women, with some MPs emphasising the importance of the resulting child having a father.

Voting Age (Reduction) Bill, 06/06/08 [E,NI,S,W]
2nd Reading debate in the Commons for this Private Members’ Bill. Introducing the debate Julie Morgan said “The purpose of the Voting Age (Reduction) Bill is straightforward: to reduce the legal voting age to 16 for all public elections across the United Kingdom. That is the only way to engage the young people to whom we desperately need to talk as politicians and the only way to send the message that we really care about the issues that affect those people”.

Voting Age (Reduction) Bill, 06/06/08 [E,NI,S,W]
Second reading of Private Member’s Bill introduced by Julie Morgan MP. The Bill seeks to reduce the legal voting age to 16 for all public elections across the United Kingdom. An Early Day Motion calling for the same aim attracted the signatures of 111 MPs. The “Votes at Sixteen” campaign, supported by NCB among many others, has published a pamphlet outlining 16 Reasons for Votes at 16. In 2004, the Electoral Commission’s public consultation on lowering the voting age found that 72% of respondents favoured a voting age of 16. More recently in Wales, a Funky Dragon survey found that 80% of young people in Wales wanted votes at 16 and subsequently, the Welsh Assembly passed a motion calling for the voting age to be lowered to 16. The debate ran out of time and is due to continue on 13 June 2008.

Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill, 05/06/08 [E,NI,S,W]
Fourth Committee day in the Commons. Morning session. MPs begin with amendments to Schedule 3 (consent to use or storage of gametes, embryos or human admixed embryos etc.) In response to amendments regarding the posthumous use of a partner’s sperm for fertility treatment within or outside the UK, the Minister says that the decision to use a person’s gametes must rest on their written consent before death, and that the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) is the appropriate authority to decide on such cases (amendments withdrawn). The Government introduces a set of amendments relating to exemptions for consent requirements for the use or storage of tissue. In relation to children, the amendments propose that children with specific types of conditions who are too young to consent, or who lack capacity, should be excluded from the requirement for consent, if it is given by a person with parental responsibility gives consent. The HFEA also must be satisfied that: the child suffers from a serious medical condition; the research is intended to increase knowledge about the condition or its treatment; and there are reasonable grounds for believing that the research could not be carried out as effectively with the cells of a person who could give consent.

Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill, 05/06/08 [E,NI,S,W]
Afternoon session. The morning’s debate on consent for the storage and use of tissue continues. The Government’s amendments are accepted. A probing amendment leads to a debate around the storage time of embryos where there is a disagreement between both gamete donors (withdrawn). MPs debate issues relating to licensing including: circumstances in which counselling is a condition of license for treatment, the storage of gametes; and revocation, variation and suspension of licenses. MPs then debate an amendment allowing the children of donor-conceived people to access donor information. The Minister says that Government has assessed this is and “remain[s] of the view…that access to the HFEA’s register should continue to focus on those directly affected, and that it should be up to the donor-conceived person to decide whether to access the information available to them and who they subsequently choose to pass that information to—including their own offspring” (withdrawn).

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