Closed petition Review and reform legislation governing parental responsibility

Closed on 2 August 2023

We believe that the Children Act 1989, which provides the legislative basis for parental responsibility, is not fit for purpose. This legislation should be reviewed and reformed, to more clearly set out the rights and responsibilities of parents, and when parental responsibility should be removed.

We believe that the way parental responsibility (PR) as defined in the 1989 Children Act is too vague, and that this legislation currently fails both parents and children. The Act does not clearly set out the rights or responsibilities of parents. Nor does it detail conditions where a parent should lose parental responsibility.

We want this legislation to be reviewed in detail, so that issues such as the following can be addressed in law: murder of one parent by the other, separation, parental alienation.