141.This Chapter makes various amendments to the Children Act 1989 and the Adoption and Children Act 2002 to reflect the creation of the new relationship of civil partnership.
142.This section amends various provisions of the Children Act 1989 (“the 1989 Act”) to put civil partners on the same footing as married couples.
143.Subsection (2) amends section 4A(1) of the 1989 Act to enable a civil partner to acquire parental responsibility of his or her civil partner’s child in the same way as a person who is married to the parent of the child (but is not that child’s parent).
144.Subsection (3) amends the definition of “child of the family” in section 105(1) of the 1989 Act to include a child of both civil partners and any other child who has been treated as a child of the family by both civil partners, unless the child had been placed with the civil partners by a local authority or a voluntary organisation as foster parents.
145.Subsection (4) amends the definition of “relative” in section 105 (1) of the 1989 Act to replace “by affinity” with “by marriage or civil partnership”.
146.This section amends section 6 of the 1989 Act in relation to the revocation and disclaimer of appointments of guardians. Under section 5(3) and (4) of the 1989 Act a parent or guardian may appoint any person to act as the guardian of a child in his or her place. This section inserts a provision into section 6 of the 1989 Act so that where a person appoints his or her civil partner to be the guardian of a child that appointment is revoked if the civil partnership is dissolved or annulled, unless the appointment itself indicates that a dissolution or annulment of the civil partnership should not affect the appointment.
147.This section amends section 10(5) of the 1989 Act to add a civil partner in a civil partnership to the class of people who are able to apply for a residence or contact order. The amendment enables civil partners to apply for an order whether or not the civil partnership subsists.
148.This Section amends Schedule 1 to the 1989 Act by adding to the definition of periodical payment orders in paragraph 2(6) of that Schedule orders under the provisions of Parts 1 and 9 of Schedule 5 and under Schedule 6 to this Act. This will enable courts to make orders for periodical payments to be made from one civil partner to the other or to a child of the family, or to a particular person for the benefit of a child of the family.
149.Subsection (3) amends Paragraph 15(2) of Schedule 1 to the 1989 Act so that a local authority will not be able to make a contribution towards the maintenance of a child who is subject to a residence order where the person with whom the child is living is a parent of the child, or the husband or wife or civil partner of a parent of the child.
150.Subsection (4) extends the meaning of “parent” in paragraph 16(2) of Schedule 1 to the 1989 Act to include any civil partner in a partnership, whether it is still in existence or whether it has been brought to an end, for whom the child concerned is a child of the family.
151.This section amends the Adoption and Children Act 2002 (“the 2002 Act”) to ensure that the relationship of civil partnership is recognised for the purposes of adoption.
152.Subsection (2) amends section 21(4)(c) of the 2002 Act to allow a placement order to end when a child forms a civil partnership.
153.Subsection (3) inserts an additional subsection in section 47 of the 2002 Act so that an adoption order cannot be made in respect of any person who is in a civil partnership or has been in a civil partnership.
154.Subsection (4) amends section 51(1) of the 2002 Act to allow for an adoption order to be made on the application of one person where that person is over the age of 21 years and is not married or is not a civil partner.
155.Subsection (5) inserts an additional subsection in section 51 of the 2002 Act to set out the circumstances where one member of a civil partnership may apply for an adoption order on their own and not as a couple. The circumstances are that: the person’s civil partner cannot be found; the civil partners have separated and are living apart, and the separation is likely to be permanent; or the person’s civil partner is incapable of making an application for an adoption order because of physical or mental ill-health.
156.Subsection (6) amends section 64 of the 2002 Act to include a civil partnership. Section 64(5) enables fees to be prescribed in respect of persons who apply to the adoption agency under sections 60, 61 or 62 for information. The exception is amended to provide that the adopted person cannot be charged in respect of any information disclosed to him about any person who but for his adoption would be related to him by blood, including half-blood, marriage or civil partnership.
157.Subsection (7) amends section 74(1) of the 2002 Act to ensure that the status conferred as a consequence of an adoption order does not apply for the purposes of either Schedule 1 to the Civil Partnership Act (prohibited degrees of relationship) or Schedule 1 to the Marriage Act 1949.
158.Subsection (8) amends section 79(7) of the 2002 Act to ensure that an adopted person who intends to form a civil partnership can apply to the Registrar General for him to check that the person, with whom the applicant intends to form a civil partnership, does not fall within the prohibited degrees.
159.Subsection (9) amends section 81 of the 2002 Act to ensure that the meaning of “relative” for the purposes of an entry in the adoption contact register includes a person related by civil partnership.
160.Subsection (10) ensures that the meaning of “relative” in section 98 of the 2002 Act includes a person related by civil partnership. Section 98 of the 2002 Act amplifies the regulation-making power in section 9 to provide that the appropriate Minister may make regulations in connection with adoptions made before the commencement of sections 56 to 65. Section 98(1) of the 2002 Act provides that regulations may make provision for assisting adults adopted before the appointed day to obtain information about their adoption and to facilitate contact between them and their relatives.
161.Subsection (11) extends the meaning of “relative” in relation to a child in section 144(1) of the 2002 Act to include people related by civil partnership as well as by marriage. Section 144 of the 2002 Act provides general interpretation.
162.Subsection (12) amends the definition (for the purposes of that Act) of “couple” in section 144(4) of the 2002 Act to include two people who are civil partners of each other. With the amendment made by the Civil Partnership Act, a couple means a married couple, two people who are civil partners of each other, or two people, whether of different sexes or of the same sex, living as partners in an enduring family relationship.