Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he plans to take to allow independent celebrants to conduct legally recognised weddings.

On 16 July, the Government published the consultation ‘Tying the Knot: Reforming weddings law in England and Wales’. The Government has taken the initial view that independent officiants should be permitted to conduct legally binding weddings as part of a reformed weddings framework. The consultation seeks views on how this could operate in practice, including the regulation and training requirements that should apply to independent officiants.

The consultation closes on 24 September. The Government will then consider the findings of the consultation carefully before finalising our policy positions. Any finalised reforms would then be brought forward when parliamentary time allows.