This Statutory Instrument has been printed to correct an error in S.I. 2015/1834 and is being issued free of charge to all known recipients of that Statutory Instrument.

2015 No. 2048

Evidence

The Blood Tests (Evidence of Paternity) (Amendment) (Review) Regulations 2015

Made

Laid before Parliament

Coming into force

The Lord Chancellor makes the following Regulations in exercise of the powers in section 22(1) of the Family Law Reform Act 19691.

Citation and commencement1

These Regulations may be cited as the Blood Tests (Evidence of Paternity) (Amendment) (Review) Regulations 2015 and come into force on 11th January 2016.

Amendment of the Blood Tests (Evidence of Paternity) (Amendment) Regulations 20152

In the Blood Tests (Evidence of Paternity) (Amendment) Regulations 20152, after regulation 2 (amendment of the Blood Tests (Evidence of Paternity) Regulations 1971), insert—

Review3

1

The Secretary of State must from time to time—

a

carry out a review of the effect on the Blood Tests (Evidence of Paternity) Regulations 1971 of the amendments made by regulation 2;

b

set out the conclusions of the review in a report, and

c

publish the report.

2

The report must in particular—

a

set out the objectives intended to be achieved by the regulatory system as amended by regulation 2,

b

assess the extent to which those objectives are achieved, and

c

assess whether those objectives remain appropriate and, if so, the extent to which they could be achieved with a system that imposes less regulation.

3

The first report under this regulation must be published before the end of the period of one year beginning with the day on which regulation 2 came into force.

4

Reports under this regulation are afterwards to be published at intervals not exceeding five years.

Caroline DinenageParliamentary Under Secretary of StateMinistry of Justice
EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend the Blood Tests (Evidence of Paternity) (Amendment) Regulations 2015 (S.I. 2015/1834) (“the 2015 Regulations”) to insert a review provision.

New regulation 3 of the 2015 Regulations requires the Secretary of State to review the operation and effect of the amendments made by the 2015 Regulations to the Blood Tests (Evidence of Paternity) Regulations 1971 (S.I. 1971/1861) (“the 1971 Regulations”) and publish a report within one year after the 2015 Regulations come into force and within every five years after that. Following a review it will fall to the Secretary of State to consider whether the amendments made by the 2015 Regulations to the 1971 Regulations should remain as they are, or be revoked or be amended. A further instrument would be needed to revoke the Regulations or to amend them.

A full impact assessment has not been produced for this instrument as no, or no significant, impact on the private, voluntary or public sectors is foreseen.