Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to allow commercial wedding celebrants to perform legally recognised marriages without being precluded from carrying on a business of solemnising marriages for the purpose of profit or gain.

Reform to fundamental marriage law in England and Wales needs to be wholesale and not undertaken on a piecemeal basis. That is why we invited the Law Commission last year to review the law on how and where couples may marry. As part of that review, the Law Commission will make recommendations about how marriage by humanists and other non-religious belief organisations could be incorporated into a revised or new scheme for all marriages that is simple, fair and consistent.

The Law Commission’s consultation on weddings also considers how the law could allow independent celebrants to solemnize legal weddings. The Government will decide on provision on the basis of the Law Commission's recommendations.

The Law Commission published its consultation paper on 3 September and will welcome contributions from all stakeholders.