Adoption and Children Bill

Adoption and Children Bill - continued	House of Commons
PART I, ADOPTION - continued

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	CHAPTER V
	THE REGISTERS
	Adopted Children Register etc.
Adopted Children Register.	61. - (1) The Registrar General must continue to maintain at the General Register Office a register, to be called the Adopted Children Register.
	(2) Such entries in the Adopted Children Register as may be-
	(a) directed to be made in it by adoption orders, or
	(b) required to be made under Schedule 1,
	and no other entries, must be made.
	(3) A certified copy of an entry in the Adopted Children Register, if purporting to be sealed or stamped with the seal of the General Register Office, is to be received as evidence of the adoption to which it relates without further or other proof.
	(4) Where an entry in the Adopted Children Register contains a record-
	(a) of the date of birth of the adopted person, or
	(b) of the country, or the district and sub-district, of the birth of the adopted person,
	a certified copy of the entry is also to be received, without further or other proof, as evidence of that date, or country or district and sub-district, (as the case may be) in all respects as if the copy were a certified copy of an entry in the registers of live-births.
	(5) The Registrar General must continue to maintain at the General Register Office an index of the Adopted Children Register.
	(6) Any person may-
	(a) search that index, and
	(b) have a certified copy of any entry in the Adopted Children Register.
	(7) The terms, conditions and regulations as to payment of fees, and otherwise, applicable under the Births and Deaths Registration Act 1953, and the Registration Service Act 1953, in respect of-
	(a) searches in the index kept at the General Register Office of certified copies of the registers of live-births, and
	(b) the supply from that office of certified copies of entries in those certified copies,
	also apply in respect of searches, and supplies of certified copies, under subsection (6).
	(8) Where the Registrar General maintains the index of the Adopted Children Register on a computer and provides a program for searching the index, subsection (6) does not authorise any person to search the index otherwise than by the use of the program.
	(9) Schedule 1 (which, among other things, provides for the registration of adoptions and the amendment of adoption orders) is to have effect.
Other registers and books.	62. - (1) The Registrar General must record and make traceable the connection between any entry in the registers of live-births or other records which has been marked "Adopted" and any corresponding entry in the Adopted Children Register.
	(2) Neither-
	(a) the record kept under subsection (1), nor
	(b) any index of it,
	is to be open to public inspection or search.
	(3) The Registrar General must not give to any person-
	(a) any information contained in, or
	(b) any copy or extract from,
	the record kept under subsection (1), or any index of it, except in accordance with section 63 or under an order mentioned in subsection (4).
	(4) In exceptional circumstances, an order of the High Court may require the Registrar General to give any such information, copy or extract to any person.
Disclosure of birth records of adopted children.	63. - (1) On an application made in the specified manner by an adopted person-
	(a) a record of whose birth is kept by the Registrar General, and
	(b) who has attained the age of 18 years,
	the Registrar General must, subject to section 64, give the applicant such information as is necessary to enable the applicant to obtain a certified copy of the record of his birth.
	(2) On an application made by an adopted person a record of whose birth is kept by the Registrar General and who-
	(a) is under the age of 18 years, and
	(b) intends to be married,
	the Registrar General must inform the applicant whether or not it appears from information contained in the registers of live-births or other records that the applicant and the person whom the applicant intends to marry may be within the prohibited degrees of relationship for the purposes of the Marriage Act 1949.
	(3) The duty to give any information under this section, where a fee for giving that information is prescribed by an order made by the appropriate Minister and the Registrar General has demanded the fee, only arises if the fee has been paid.
	(4) In this section, "specified" means specified by regulations made by the Registrar General.
Disclosure of birth records: counselling.	64. - (1) Before giving any information to an applicant under section 63(1), the Registrar General must inform the applicant that counselling services are available to the applicant-
	(a) from a registered adoption society or an adoption society which is approved under section 3 of the Adoption (Scotland) Act 1978 or registered under Article 4 of the Adoption (Northern Ireland) Order 1987,
	(b) if the applicant is in England and Wales, at the General Register Office or from any local authority,
	(c) if the applicant is in Scotland, from any regional or islands council, and
	(d) if the applicant is in Northern Ireland, from any Board.
	(2) Where an adopted person who is in England and Wales-
	(a) applies for information under section 63(1) or Article 54 of the Adoption (Northern Ireland) Order 1987, or
	(b) is supplied with information under section 45 of the Adoption (Scotland) Act 1978,
	the persons and bodies mentioned in subsection (3) must, if asked by the applicant to do so, provide counselling for the applicant.
	(3) The persons and bodies referred to in subsection (2) are-
	(a) the Registrar General,
	(b) any local authority,
	(c) a registered adoption society or an adoption society which is approved under section 3 of the Adoption (Scotland) Act 1978 or registered under Article 4 of the Adoption (Northern Ireland) Order 1987.
	(4) If the applicant chooses to receive counselling from a person or body falling within subsection (1), the Registrar General must send to the person or body the information to which the applicant is entitled under section 63(1).
	(5) Where a person-
	(a) was adopted before 12th November 1975, and
	(b) applies for information under section 63(1),
	the Registrar General must not give the information to the applicant unless the applicant has attended an interview with a counsellor arranged by a person or body from whom counselling services are available as mentioned in subsection (1).
	(6) Where the Registrar General is prevented by subsection (5) from giving information to a person who is not living in the United Kingdom, the Registrar General may give the information to any body which-
	(a) the Registrar General is satisfied is suitable to provide counselling to that person, and
	(b) has notified the Registrar General that it is prepared to provide such counselling.
	(7) In this section, "a Board" means a Health and Social Services Board established under Article 16 of the Health and Personal Social Services (Northern Ireland) Order 1972; but where the functions of a Board are exercisable by a Health and Social Services Trust, references in this section to a Board are to be read as references to the Health and Social Services Trust.
	Adoption Contact Register
Adoption Contact Register.	65. - (1) The Registrar General must continue to maintain at the General Register Office in accordance with this section a register in two Parts to be called the Adoption Contact Register.
	(2) Part I of the register must give the names and addresses of adopted persons who have given notice expressing their wish to be included in that Part; and the entry for each adopted person must state (in accordance with the notice or a subsequent notice under section 67(2)) that the adopted person wishes-
	(a) to make contact with all of his relatives,
	(b) to make contact only with such of his relatives as are described in the entry, or
	(c) not to make contact with any of his relatives.
	(3) The Registrar General may only make an entry in Part I of the register for an adopted person-
	(a) a record of whose birth is kept by the Registrar General,
	(b) who has attained the age of 18 years, and
	(c) who has been supplied by the Registrar General with information under section 63 or who the Registrar General is satisfied has such information as is necessary to enable him to obtain a certified copy of the record of his birth.
	(4) Before making an entry in Part I of the register for an adopted person, or accepting any fee for doing so, in a case where there is any entry in Part II of the register for any relative of the adopted person which shows that the relative does not wish to make contact with the adopted person, the Registrar General must inform the adopted person of that fact and of the nature of the relationship.
	(5) Part II of the register must give the names of persons who have given notice expressing their wish to be included in that Part as relatives of adopted persons and the addresses given by them for the purposes of the register; and the entry for each relative must state (in accordance with the notice or a subsequent notice under section 67(2)) that the relative wishes, or does not wish, to make contact with the adopted person.
	(6) The Registrar General may only make an entry in Part II of the register for a person-
	(a) who has attained the age of 18 years, and
	(b) who the Registrar General is satisfied is a relative of an adopted person and has such information as is necessary to enable him to obtain a certified copy of the record of the adopted person's birth.
	(7) Before making an entry in Part II of the register for a relative of an adopted person, or accepting any fee for doing so, in a case where there is an entry in Part I of the register for the adopted person which shows that the adopted person does not wish to make contact with the relative, the Registrar General must inform the relative of that fact.
Adoption Contact Register: disclosure.	66. - (1) Where there is an entry in Part I of the Adoption Contact Register which shows that an adopted person wishes to make contact with all of his relatives, the Registrar General must give to the adopted person-
	(a) the name of any relative of his for whom there is an entry in Part II of the register which shows that the relative wishes to make contact with him, and
	(b) the address shown for that relative in the register.
	(2) Where there is an entry in Part I of the register which shows that an adopted person wishes to make contact with any of his relatives described in the entry, the Registrar General must give to the adopted person-
	(a) the name of any relative of that description for whom there is an entry in Part II of the register which shows that the relative wishes to make contact with him, and
	(b) the address shown for that relative in the register.
	(3) The register is not to be open to public inspection or search.
	(4) The Registrar General must not give any information entered in the register to any person except in accordance with section 65 or this section.
Adoption Contact Register: supplementary.	67. - (1) An entry shown in the Adoption Contact Register immediately before the day on which section 65 comes into force is to be treated as if, on that day-
	(a) in the case of an entry in Part I, it stated that the adopted person wishes to make contact with all of his relatives, and
	(b) in the case of an entry in Part II, it stated that the relative wishes to make contact with the adopted person,
	and the Registrar General must amend the register accordingly.
	(2) The Registrar General must amend or remove the entry for any person in the register if the person gives notice requiring him to do so.
	(3) Any notice given under section 65 or this section is to be in such form as may be determined by the Registrar General.
	(4) The Registrar General is not required to make an entry in the register, or in prescribed circumstances to consider an application to make such an entry, unless any prescribed fee has been paid; and in this subsection "prescribed" means prescribed by an order made by the appropriate Minister.
	(5) In sections 65 and 66 and this section, "relative", in relation to an adopted person, means any person (other than an adoptive relative) who is related to the adopted person by blood (including half-blood) or marriage.

Prepared 15 March 2001