The Human Fertilisation and Embryology (Parental Orders) Regulations 2018

3.  Article 9 (duty to promote the welfare of the child) has effect as if—

(a) the existing Article was numbered as paragraph (1);

(b) for “the adoption of a child” there were substituted “the making of a parental order in respect of a child”;

(c) the words “or adoption agency” were omitted;

(d) for “most important” there were substituted “paramount”;

(e) in paragraph (a)(i) for “adoption, or adoption by a particular person or persons,” there were substituted “the making of such an order”;

(f) the word “and” immediately after paragraph (a) were omitted; and

(g) after paragraph (b) there were inserted—

“(c) have regard to the child’s particular needs;

(d) have regard to the likely effect on the child (throughout his life) of having ceased to be a member of the original family and become the subject of a parental order;

(e) have regard to the child’s age, sex, background and any of the child’s characteristics which the court considers relevant;

(f) have regard to any harm (within the meaning of the Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1995) which the child has suffered or is at risk of suffering; and

(g) have regard to the relationship which the child has with relatives, and with any other person in relation to whom the court considers the relationship to be relevant.

(2) The court must always consider the whole range of powers available to it in the child’s case whether—

(a) under section 54 or 54A of the 2008 Act;

(b) under this Order (as applied with modifications by regulation 4 of and Schedule 3 to the Parental Order Regulations); or

(c) the Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1995,

and the court must not make an order under section 54 or section 54A of the 2008 Act, as the case may be, or under this Order as so applied, unless it considers that making the order would be better for the child than not doing so.

(3) For the purposes of this Article (as applied with modifications by regulation 4 of and Schedule 3 to the Parental Order Regulations)—

(a) a reference to relationships is not confined to legal relationships; and

(b) a reference to a relative, in relation to a child, includes the child’s mother and father.”.