The Church of England has questioned Government plans to force both parents to register every birth, arguing that legislation could reduce rather than promote parental responsibility.

By linking the subject of joint birth registration so closely with child maintenance and financial accountability, the Government risks making this legislation less likely to be accepted by those who fear being chased for money at a later stage, argues the response of the Church's Mission and Public Affairs Council to the Department of Work and Pensions' consultation on Joint Birth registration: promoting parental responsibility.

"We believe that an active and positive approach to encourage both parents to nurture and care for their children through all services offered at birth (registration, health etc) is a better way forward than a legislative approach which may well be interpreted as oppressive and potentially punitive by those it seeks to support," the response says.

It has always been the teaching of the Church of England that marriage continues to provide the best context for the raising of children, the response points out, but the need to act with compassion toward those who suffer as a result of other choices and actions is also central to Christian understanding.

"We agree that the young, the most socially excluded or poor are more likely to register the birth of their child on their own. However correlation does not imply causation and there is no evidence that joint registration will have any effect on poverty or the age profile of mothers, or that sole registration implies vulnerability," said the Rt Revd Tom Butler, Bishop of Southwark

"Children are a gift of God, not a right of the parents and we want to affirm the child's right and need for a father and a mother, wherever possible, both of whom nurture and take responsibility for the children and that public policy should support and encourage that.

However, we do not consider that a legislative approach is proportionate to the 'problem' of sole registration. Indeed we believe that the cost of any legislation will be largely borne by the most vulnerable, including those mothers who have genuine reasons for exemption from joint registration, who would face additional bureaucracy."