Ms Sarah Groarke:

I am happy to take that question. When we were looking at what model we thought would be appropriate and in the best interests of the child, we considered the report of the special rapporteur on child protection and the children's rights standards that are set out in the Verona principles in particular and what they are seeking to guide states in doing in implementing those child rights principles.

In our observations, as the committee has seen, we have proposed, similar to the rapporteur's report, that a pre-birth model of transferring parentage be established in domestic legislation and that the 2022 Bill be amended to take this into account. We were particularly guided by the Verona principles. Adequate pre-surrogacy arrangements are provided for in the 2022 Bill. Those arrangements include the consent of the surrogate mother and the parents of the donor, and that independent legal advice has been given etc. If the surrogate mother is permitted to confirm her consent for a period of time after the birth, there is no impediment from a children's rights perspective to having a pre-birth transfer of parentage in place. That is why we made that recommendation. We also think, as the special rapporteur has outlined in his report, that this would involve an application for parentage to the courts, alongside pre-authorisation of the surrogacy on the basis of a set of pre-surrogacy arrangements. That would allow for an assessment of the best interests of the child to be taken into account by a court before the surrogacy is proceeded with. Doing that would allow for judicial oversight all the way through the process and not just after the birth. It would also ensure clarity for that child from day one.