Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what evidence they have on the incidence of sham marriages in the United Kingdom.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Government takes abuse of the spouse and partner immigration routes very seriously and is clear that family migration must be based on a genuine and subsisting marriage or relationship. The marriage referral and investigation scheme (the Scheme), introduced across the UK under the Immigration Act 2014, requires that all proposed marriages and civil partnerships where one or both parties could gain an immigration advantage from it are referred to the Home Office.

Under the Scheme, where we have reasonable grounds to suspect a sham relationship, the marriage notice period will be extended to allow for further investigation, and for enforcement or casework action to be taken where appropriate.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many people who have been deported from the United Kingdom after (1) asylum application refusal, or (2) completion of a prison sentence, have returned to the UK (a) in breach of their deportation arrangements, or (b) following completion of a sentence overseas, in the past 12 months.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

The information requested is not currently available from published statistics, and the relevant data could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many people who have been deported from the United Kingdom after (1) asylum application refusal, or (2) completion of a prison sentence, have returned to the UK (a) as illegal entrants in breach of their deportation arrangements, and (b) following completion of a sentence overseas, in the past five years.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

The requested data could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether records relating to marriage in England and Wales are to be made available for immediate access to the public.

Answered by Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

Polygamous marriages cannot legally be entered into in England and Wales law. We do not hold data on the number of polygamous marriages in England and Wales.

The Immigration Act 2014 extended the marriage notice period from 14 days to 28 days to help prevent sham marriages. The Government has no plans to review this.

The 28-day notice period remains in place not only for administrative reasons but also to support safeguards against sham marriages. While the Law Commission’s 2022 report on weddings law made 57 recommendations for the reform of weddings law, it did not propose changes to the current 28-day duration of the notice period for weddings. As a responsible Government, we need time to consider the Law Commission’s report, and we will set out our position in the coming months.

The Registrar General has a duty to provide an index of all marriages registered in England and Wales, which is available to the public to search and obtain a certified copy of an entry.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government to what extent considerations other than administrative requirements have been taken into account in the retention of the 28-day notice period for weddings.

Answered by Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

Polygamous marriages cannot legally be entered into in England and Wales law. We do not hold data on the number of polygamous marriages in England and Wales.

The Immigration Act 2014 extended the marriage notice period from 14 days to 28 days to help prevent sham marriages. The Government has no plans to review this.

The 28-day notice period remains in place not only for administrative reasons but also to support safeguards against sham marriages. While the Law Commission’s 2022 report on weddings law made 57 recommendations for the reform of weddings law, it did not propose changes to the current 28-day duration of the notice period for weddings. As a responsible Government, we need time to consider the Law Commission’s report, and we will set out our position in the coming months.

The Registrar General has a duty to provide an index of all marriages registered in England and Wales, which is available to the public to search and obtain a certified copy of an entry.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to implement the Law Commission's recommendations in their report Celebrating Marriage: A New Weddings Law, published on 18 July 2022.

Answered by Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

Polygamous marriages cannot legally be entered into in England and Wales law. We do not hold data on the number of polygamous marriages in England and Wales.

The Immigration Act 2014 extended the marriage notice period from 14 days to 28 days to help prevent sham marriages. The Government has no plans to review this.

The 28-day notice period remains in place not only for administrative reasons but also to support safeguards against sham marriages. While the Law Commission’s 2022 report on weddings law made 57 recommendations for the reform of weddings law, it did not propose changes to the current 28-day duration of the notice period for weddings. As a responsible Government, we need time to consider the Law Commission’s report, and we will set out our position in the coming months.

The Registrar General has a duty to provide an index of all marriages registered in England and Wales, which is available to the public to search and obtain a certified copy of an entry.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will review the decision made in 2014 to increase from 14 to 28 days the notice period for weddings.

Answered by Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

Polygamous marriages cannot legally be entered into in England and Wales law. We do not hold data on the number of polygamous marriages in England and Wales.

The Immigration Act 2014 extended the marriage notice period from 14 days to 28 days to help prevent sham marriages. The Government has no plans to review this.

The 28-day notice period remains in place not only for administrative reasons but also to support safeguards against sham marriages. While the Law Commission’s 2022 report on weddings law made 57 recommendations for the reform of weddings law, it did not propose changes to the current 28-day duration of the notice period for weddings. As a responsible Government, we need time to consider the Law Commission’s report, and we will set out our position in the coming months.

The Registrar General has a duty to provide an index of all marriages registered in England and Wales, which is available to the public to search and obtain a certified copy of an entry.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government what is the incidence of polygamy in the United Kingdom.

Answered by Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

Polygamous marriages cannot legally be entered into in England and Wales law. We do not hold data on the number of polygamous marriages in England and Wales.

The Immigration Act 2014 extended the marriage notice period from 14 days to 28 days to help prevent sham marriages. The Government has no plans to review this.

The 28-day notice period remains in place not only for administrative reasons but also to support safeguards against sham marriages. While the Law Commission’s 2022 report on weddings law made 57 recommendations for the reform of weddings law, it did not propose changes to the current 28-day duration of the notice period for weddings. As a responsible Government, we need time to consider the Law Commission’s report, and we will set out our position in the coming months.

The Registrar General has a duty to provide an index of all marriages registered in England and Wales, which is available to the public to search and obtain a certified copy of an entry.

Small Modular Reactors APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: MP  Clive Betts MP  Mark Jenkinson MP  Charlotte Nichols MP  Viscount Trenchard  Lord Campbell-Savours