reforming surrogacy law

Earlier this month, an interim response to the Law Commissions’ Final Report and Draft Bill on recommended changes to the law on surrogacy was received.

The letter from Maria Caulfield MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for the Department of Health and Social Care, thanked the Law Commissions for the comprehensive and detailed report, stating that the Department of Health and Social Care was working with other Government departments to review the recommendations before providing a full response.

According to the Protocol between the Lord Chancellor and Law Commission, the relevant Government department should provide a full response to Law Commission reports as soon as possible, but within one year of publication.  If followed, this would mean a full response would be anticipated in March 2024.  However, the interim response, expected within six months, was delayed and there are multiple examples of where a full response from the Government has not been received within the year. 

It was also stated in the letter that ‘parliamentary time does not allow for these changes to be taken forward at the moment’.  This comment seems to support the likelihood of the full response being later than the expected one-year time frame. 

Given the upcoming general election, the fact that the recommendations are not being taken forward at the moment is not necessarily negative. The process of taking a Bill through Parliament takes time and, since the proposed changes in the law are likely to divide public opinion, it is important that the Bill is properly scrutinised and debated prior to becoming legislation. The risk of introducing a Bill late into any Parliamentary session is that it gets part way through the process and is not completed.  As such, waiting until the general election has taken place would ensure that appropriate time and attention can be given to the recommendations.

It will be essential, however, to ensure that momentum is not lost, and that those advocating for law reform keep working so that the recommendations can be properly considered as soon as practicable.