Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent discussions he has had with the Law Commission on the date of the publication of that body's report on reforming the laws on wills.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
We regularly discuss with the Law Commission the timeframes for reports which the Government has commissioned, and which the Commission has to prioritise in order to resource each law reform project appropriately. The Commission paused completion of the wills project following Government’s request for it to prioritise work on weddings, in the light of the pressing need for reform in relation to how and where people can marry. The Law Commission expects to return to the wills project later this year.
Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of ensuring weddings for terminally ill people are not subject to any future public health restrictions.
Answered by Maggie Throup
In light of the existing restrictions being lifted, the Government has not made a recent assessment. However, should further restrictions be required in future, we would consider what exemptions would be appropriate.
Asked by: Baroness Cox (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Integrated Communities Strategy Green Paper published on 14 March 2018, whether they can provide an update on their progress in exploring "the legal and practical challenges of limited reform relating to the law on marriage and religious weddings."
Answered by Lord Wolfson of Tredegar
This is a difficult issue which requires careful consideration. The Law Commission are looking at aspects of the problem through their review of the law governing legal marriage ceremonies. This review will present options for reforms to modernise marriage law, including in relation to who can solemnise a marriage and ways of ensuring that fewer weddings conducted according to religious rites result in a marriage that the law does not recognise at all. The Government will consider the case for more comprehensive and enduring reform to marriage law once the Law Commission’s recommendations have been received.
A separate Nuffield Foundation study, launched in September 2020 and due to report shortly, is investigating why marriage ceremonies occur outside of the legal framework for weddings in England and Wales, and the findings of this report will also be carefully considered. Any proposals affecting how religious groups are permitted to conduct marriages must be thoroughly assessed for their fairness.
Asked by: Paul Howell (Conservative - Sedgefield)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what support the Government has made available for local authorities to support wedding industry businesses and those in the supply chain for that sector that have been affected by the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Omicron Hospitality and Leisure Grant provides local councils with one-off grant funding to support hospitality, leisure and accommodation businesses in England. Further information can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/check-if-youre-eligible-for-the-omicron-hospitality-and-leisure-grant.
The Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG) provides local councils with grant funding to support businesses that are severely impacted by coronavirus and the rise of the Omicron variant, which are not eligible for other grant funding. Further information can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/check-if-youre-eligible-for-the-coronavirus-additional-restrictions-grant.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to (a) tackle and (b) bring forward tougher legislation on predatory marriage.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Government takes the issue of protecting the vulnerable, including the elderly, from being taken advantage of extremely seriously.
The Law Commission is working on two major law reform reviews commissioned by the Government which are relevant to our developing reform proposals in relation to predatory marriage. One is in relation to the law of weddings the other on the law of wills.
Both projects have been exploring potential proposals to provide improved protection for vulnerable people, and we will review the case for reform when we have received the reports and recommendations from the Law Commission.
Asked by: Baroness Cox (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether British Muslim women have the rights set out in paragraph nine of Resolution 2253 of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, published on 22 January 2019, specifically in relation (1) to obtaining the protection of legal marriage, and (2) to discriminatory practices in relation to religious divorce.
Answered by Lord Wolfson of Tredegar
The law has long made provision for couples, including Muslim couples, to marry in their place of worship in a way that gives them legal rights and protections. The Government shares the concern that some people may nonetheless marry in a way that does not give them these legal rights and protections, without appreciating the consequences.
We continue to explore limited reform and non-legislative options in this area with the greatest of care. This work will be informed by the forthcoming reports from the Law Commission on weddings, and from the Nuffield Foundation on religious weddings.
Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the judgment in R (Harrison and others) v Secretary of State for Justice 2020, what plans he has to bring forward legislative proposals for humanist marriages after the conclusion of the Law Commission marriage review.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The Law Commission report is expected to present options for wholesale reform to the law governing marriage ceremonies, which the Government will consider carefully. Options being explored by the Law Commission include offering couples greater flexibility to form their own ceremonies, allowing the ceremony to take place in a much broader range of locations and to provide a framework that could allow non-religious belief organisations (such as Humanists) and/or independent celebrants to conduct legally binding weddings.
Asked by: Angela Eagle (Labour - Wallasey)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will publish a list of all (a) substantial and (b) minor reforms his Department has made to marriage law since the Marriage (Same-Sex Couples) Act 2013.
Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
The Ministry of Justice is responsible for marriage law in England and Wales. Marriage law in Scotland and Northern Ireland is a devolved matter.
The Government has received a number of representations about making separate provision for humanist marriage in England and Wales. As we have made clear, a Law Commission report due later this year is expected to present options for wholesale reform to the law governing marriage ceremonies, which the Government will consider carefully. Options being explored by the Law Commission include offering couples greater flexibility to form their own ceremonies, allowing the ceremony to take place in a much broader range of locations and to provide a framework that could allow non-religious belief organisations (such as Humanists) and/or independent celebrants to conduct legally binding weddings.
The Government will decide on provision for non-religious belief marriage on the basis of the Law Commission's recommendations.
Since 2013, the main reform related to marriage has been the recent amendment to the Marriages and Civil Partnerships (Approved Premises) Regulations 2005. This follows a commitment made in 2019 to accelerate plans to allow civil weddings and civil partnerships to be held outside through secondary legislation. The change took effect on 1 July and will gives more options to couples and the sector in terms of how civil weddings and civil partnerships are celebrated by allowing all aspects of the ceremony to take place outdoors, within the boundary of the land of which the built premises form part. The proposed location for the outdoor proceedings must be assessed to be seemly and dignified.
This change will provide greater flexibility especially during the pandemic when there are important public health considerations to take into account. This is not radical reform and ultimately it does not change the current law’s focus on premises.
These are time-limited amendments to the regulations which came into force on 1 July 2021 and will expire at the end of 5th April 2022. A consultation will be undertaken in the Autumn of 2021 to consider the practical impacts of this policy in detail and to enable a later amending Statutory Instrument which is not time limited. A full equality impact assessment will be undertaken on completion of the consultation and will be published in due course.
Amending the 2005 Regulations will benefit many thousands of couples who seek a civil marriage or civil partnership formation on approved premises. The power to make provision in regulations for approved premises is set out in statute and extends only to civil marriage and civil partnership formation.
Asked by: Angela Eagle (Labour - Wallasey)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what (a) assessments of the potential merits his Department has made and (b) steps his Department has taken to legally recognise humanist marriages since the Marriage (Same-Sex Couples) Act 2013; and if he will present that information in the form of a timeline.
Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
The Ministry of Justice is responsible for marriage law in England and Wales. Marriage law in Scotland and Northern Ireland is a devolved matter.
The Government has received a number of representations about making separate provision for humanist marriage in England and Wales. As we have made clear, a Law Commission report due later this year is expected to present options for wholesale reform to the law governing marriage ceremonies, which the Government will consider carefully. Options being explored by the Law Commission include offering couples greater flexibility to form their own ceremonies, allowing the ceremony to take place in a much broader range of locations and to provide a framework that could allow non-religious belief organisations (such as Humanists) and/or independent celebrants to conduct legally binding weddings.
The Government will decide on provision for non-religious belief marriage on the basis of the Law Commission's recommendations.
Since 2013, the main reform related to marriage has been the recent amendment to the Marriages and Civil Partnerships (Approved Premises) Regulations 2005. This follows a commitment made in 2019 to accelerate plans to allow civil weddings and civil partnerships to be held outside through secondary legislation. The change took effect on 1 July and will gives more options to couples and the sector in terms of how civil weddings and civil partnerships are celebrated by allowing all aspects of the ceremony to take place outdoors, within the boundary of the land of which the built premises form part. The proposed location for the outdoor proceedings must be assessed to be seemly and dignified.
This change will provide greater flexibility especially during the pandemic when there are important public health considerations to take into account. This is not radical reform and ultimately it does not change the current law’s focus on premises.
These are time-limited amendments to the regulations which came into force on 1 July 2021 and will expire at the end of 5th April 2022. A consultation will be undertaken in the Autumn of 2021 to consider the practical impacts of this policy in detail and to enable a later amending Statutory Instrument which is not time limited. A full equality impact assessment will be undertaken on completion of the consultation and will be published in due course.
Amending the 2005 Regulations will benefit many thousands of couples who seek a civil marriage or civil partnership formation on approved premises. The power to make provision in regulations for approved premises is set out in statute and extends only to civil marriage and civil partnership formation.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent steps his Department has taken towards granting legal recognition to humanist marriages; and whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of enabling Senedd Cymru to legalise humanist marriages in Wales.
Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
The Ministry of Justice is responsible for marriage law in England and Wales.
The Government has received a number of representations about making separate provision for humanist marriage in England and Wales. As we have made clear, a Law Commission report due later this year is expected to present options for wholesale reform to the law governing marriage ceremonies, which the Government will consider carefully. Options being explored by the Law Commission include offering couples greater flexibility to form their own ceremonies, allowing the ceremony to take place in a much broader range of locations and to provide a framework that could allow non-religious belief organisations (such as Humanists) and/or independent celebrants to conduct legally binding weddings.
The Government will decide on provision for non-religious belief marriage on the basis of the Law Commission's recommendations. The Government, therefore, has not made an assessment of the merits of enabling Senedd Cymru to legalise humanist marriages.