Parental Orders

Question

The number of Parental Orders granted where children were conceived through surrogacy using the surrogate mother’s own egg is not recorded centrally.

The number of Parental Orders granted to couples bringing a child in to England and Wales where the child was conceived and carried through a commercial surrogacy arrangement abroad is not recorded centrally.

Such information could only be obtained through individual analysis of court files, at disproportionate cost.

The total number of Parental Orders granted for surrogacy arrangements in England and Wales between 2017 and 2022 can be found in the table below.

Table 1: Number of total Parental Orders made in Public and Private Law (Children Act) in the Family Courts, England and Wales

Source: Family Court Statistics Quarterly

Notes:

1) These orders relate to surrogacy and are made under the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act.

2) Please note the 2022 figure only includes Private Law as figures for Public Law are currently unavailable whilst Family Public Law undergoes reform.