RESEARCH: Sexual Offences Act 2003 (1)

http://www.e-lawresources.co.uk/R-v-R-%5B1991%5D.php

Defendant charged with attempted rape of his wife. (couple were not legally separated)
HOL overturned the matrimonial exception of rape.
Conviction was upheld.

Lord Keith
"It may be taken that the proposition was generally regarded as an accurate statement of the common law of England. The common law is, however, capable of evolving in the light of changing social, economic and cultural developments. Hale's proposition reflected the state of affairs in these respects at the time it was enunciated. Since then the status of women, and particularly of married women, has changed out of all recognition in various ways which are very familiar and upon which it is unnecessary to go into detail. Apart from property matters and the availability of matrimonial remedies, one of the most important changes is that marriage is in modern times regarded as a partnership of equals, and no longer one in which the wife must be the subservient chattel of the husband. Hale's proposition involves that by marriage a wife gives her irrevocable consent to sexual intercourse with her husband under all circumstances and irrespective of the state of her health or how she happens to be feeling at the time. In modern times any reasonable person must regard that conception as quite unacceptable."

All information has been used for research purposes.

RESEARCH: The Adoption and Children Act 2002 (4)

https://www.slideshare.net/NathanLoynes/the-children-act-1989

This source is a side share written by an individual. Because of this, the data may be individually bias and not be 100% credible/reliable.

RESEARCH: The Adoption and Children Act 2002 (3)

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2005/dec/30/adoptionandfostering.childrensservices

"The new legislation make the child's welfare paramount in all decisions to do with adoption in line with the Children's Act 1989, and places new duties on local authorities to provide an adoption support service."
Guardian is a trusted source. All information is used for research purposes.

RESEARCH: The Adoption and Children Act 2002 (2)

http://www.courtroomadvice.co.uk/adoption-children-act-2002-overview.html

"1: The Child at the Centre

It was recognised that foster care and adoption sometimes overlooked the actually needs of the children in these situations. The new Act makes it a judicial responsibility for all the agency’s involved in the adoption process must put the needs and welfare of the child first. This is the Act’s guiding principle.

2: No Blanket Ban

In the past some adoption agencies had a policy that would ban certain groups of people from adopting children. A good example is people that smoke. It is now a legal requirement that the adoption agency looks at each prospective parent that wants to adopt in more detail, often taking medical advice before they come to their final decision.

3: No Postcode Lottery

The adoption agencies across the country had varied their assessment process. The new Act gives these agencies guidelines they must follow. This should deliver a more consistent assessment process for all adoptive people moving through the adoption process.

4: Better Matching Process

Once you have been accepted as an adoptive parent, the matching process of finding you a child could take up to a year. In the past, the criteria of this matching process has been quite restrictive. The new Act makes the matching process more flexible and again puts the needs of the child first.

5: More Information

One of the most important aspects of the new Act was to give prospective adoptive parents more information. The child’s permanence report is now more detailed and gives you as the possible new parent of the child more information to decide if the child is a good match with you and your family.

6: Better Support

It has been recognised that adoptive parents often need support. The systems and schemes that are in place have been enhanced to ensure that the adoption you are making is successful."

All information is taken for research purposes. 

RESEARCH: Adoption and Children Act 2002 (1)

https://www.compactlaw.co.uk/free-legal-information/adoption-law/the-adoption-and-children-act-2002.html

• "To overhaul and modernise the legal framework for domestic and inter-country adoption and in particular to replace provisions of the outdated Adoption Act 1976.
• To put adoption law in line with the existing provisions of the Children Act 1989 to ensure the child's welfare is the paramount consideration in all decisions relating to adoption.
• To place a duty on local authorities to maintain an adoption service and provide adoption support services.
• To provide for adoption orders to be made in favour of single people, married couples and unmarried couples.
• To introduce a new independent review mechanism for prospective adopters who feel they have been turned down unfairly.
• To provide a new system for access to information held in adoption agency records and by the Register General about adoptions, which take place after the Act comes into force.
• To provide additional restrictions on bringing a child into the UK for adoption.
• To provide restrictions on arranging adoptions and advertising children for adoption.
• To cut delays in the adoption process by establishing an Adoption and Children Act Register to suggest links between children and approved adopters.
• To bring in new court rules governing the making of adoption orders and measures requiring the courts to draw up timetables for adoption cases to be heard. Freeing orders are now replaced for "placement orders".
• To introduce a new special guardianship order for children for whom adoption is not a suitable option but who cannot return to their birth families.
• To provide that an unmarried father can acquire parental responsibility for his natural child where he and the child's mother register the birth of their child together. (see the children section on the homepage for further information).
• To introduce arrangements for step-fathers to acquire parental responsibility."

All information used is taken from the Compact Law website, and is used from research purposes only.

RESEARCH: The Shared Parental Leave Regulations 2014 (4)

http://www.wdmca.co.uk/news-events/two-thirds-of-parents-would-consider-new-shared-parental-leave/
"Under the Shared Parental Leave Regulations 2014, a mother can choose to curtail her statutory maternity leave (following an initial two week recovery period) and to share the remainder of the 52 week leave period with her partner or the child’s father."

Recent article. (November) 

RESEARCH: The Shared Parental Leave Regulations 2014 (3)

https://www.thomasmansfield.com/shared-parental-leave-and-pay-treating-fathers-equally/
Bias towards fathers.

RESEARCH: The Shared Parental Leave Regulations 2014 (2)

https://archive.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=4911

This article is taken from an advice service which will favour people without legal knowledge. This could be biased towards employees, and could possible mislead employees.