Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill [HL]

My Lords, I beg to move that the House do agree with the Commons in their Amendments Nos. 38 and 39. The Bill sets out provisions for legal parenthood for same-sex couples. Following assisted conception, provisions in the Bill allow for the female partner of the woman giving birth, whether in a civil partnership or not, to be entered as a parent at birth registration. Amendment No. 38 relates to Amendment No. 36 as discussed in the previous group. Amendment No. 38, together with Amendment No. 36, ensures that children born to civil partners following assisted conception treatment will be treated as legitimate in the same way as if their parents were married. Amendments Nos. 39, 47 and 94 relate to the registration of the birth of a child born by assisted reproduction to a same-sex couple. At birth registration, some statistical information is currently collected under statute by the registrar. This relates to the age of the mother and father and, if they are married, the date of marriage, whether the mother has been married previously and the number of children born to the mother. The information that the registrar is required to collect is set out in the Population (Statistics) Act 1938. Following the Bill, the questions that would be asked when registering the birth require amendment. The existing wording would be inappropriate for same-sex couples. Amendments Nos. 39, 47 and 94 make the necessary changes to the Population (Statistics) Act 1938 to allow for the collection of information relating to the age of the same-sex parents and the date of any civil partnership, where applicable, so that same-sex parents are treated equally to other parents. Moved accordingly, and, on Question, Motion agreed to.