Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 3 July 2023 to Question 191222 on on Ministry of Defence: Weddings, what security considerations his Department has identified for not permitting civil marriages or civil partnerships to take place on the Defence Estate in England and Wales.
Civil marriages and partnerships occur on Defence estates outside the UK and will comply with host countries’ laws or the Sovereign Base Regulations. The last civil marriage that took place on Defence estates in Cyprus was 11 March 2023 and the last civil partnership that took place on Defence estates in Cyprus was 27 June 2022.
Civil marriages or partnerships cannot take place on the Defence Estate in England and Wales due to The Marriages and Civil Partnership (Approved Premises) Regulations 2005, which requires Approved Premises to be regularly available to the public. That is not tenable in respect of the defence estate because of security concerns.
On 24 July 2023, in my capacity as Minister for Defence People, Veterans and Service Families, I wrote to the Ministry of Justice to enquire about amending the legislation to remove the requirement for unrestricted public access. Such an amendment would ensure that the Defence community could enter into civil marriages and partnerships in locations that have particular significance to them.