Dr. Ruth Barrington:

That is certainly correct with regard to unmarried parents because, traditionally, the unmarried father had no rights in law. The Children and Family Relationships Act has extended in a very limited way the guardianship rights of fathers who have lived with the mother for three months before the birth of the child. These fathers can now apply to be the guardians of the child but it is not registered anywhere. It is done by statutory declaration.

Of course a declaration can get lost or be torn up. Somebody can claim it was never registered because there is no register of guardianship for those who are not married. If one is married, the marriage register is the register of guardians. If one is not married, there is no register of guardianship rights. When children born to unmarried parents were a tiny proportion of all births, this aspect maybe was not so significant. Now, with a third of children being born to unmarried parents, it is a significant social problem, which I do not think has been recognised or addressed appropriately in the Child and Family Relationships Act.