... in several people regardless of gender. In this sense it provides a more flexible mechanism for recognising social parenthood. In relation to legal parents, by virtue of s.2(1) of the Children Act 1989, all mothers automatically have parental responsibility for the child. The situation becomes more complex where fathers are concerned as the law distinguishes between married and unmarried fathers. A father who is married to the mother will obtain parental responsibility under s.2(1) yet a father who is unmarried will not automatically obtain parental responsibility and must take certain steps to obtain it. Until recently, there were essentially two sources of parental responsibility for an unmarried father as articulated in s.4 of the Children Act; they could either enter a parental responsibility agreement with the mother which must be properly witnessed and registered with the court or alternatively if they were unable to reach agreement, he could apply under ...

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