Question to the Scotland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, if he will have discussions with the Scottish Government on the UK's obligations under the Sustainable Development Goals to ban child marriage by 2030.

I am pleased that the Marriage and Civil Partnership (Minimum Age) Act recently came into force in England and Wales, and I note the important work and contribution from the Member for Mid Derbyshire. As a devolved matter, it is for the Scottish Government to decide on the age of marriage. Nonetheless, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Justice wrote to the then Scottish Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Housing and Local Government last December, encouraging the Scottish Government to follow the UK Government’s lead. I hope the Scottish Government will take action on this soon, in order to meet our targets under the UN Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.