Thank you to those constituents who have contacted me about marriages.
I share concerns about current marriage laws and agree that meaningful change needs to take place. You may be interested to know that when the Government held a consultation on this in 2014, most respondents were in favour of changing the law to allow legally valid non-religious belief ceremonies in unrestricted locations.
I know that the Government wants to reform marriage ceremonies to ensure a simple, fair and consistent legal framework, so that people can have a wedding meaningful to them. With this in mind, the Government announced in June 2019 that the Law Commission would conduct a fundamental review on how and where people can legally marry in England and Wales. As part of the project, the Law Commission considered how a scheme could include weddings conducted by humanist and other non-religious belief organisations and where weddings should be able to take place.
This consultation closed in January 2021 and I understand responses are being analysed. These responses will inform development of the Law Commission's final policy, to be published in a report with recommendations for Government, expected in July 2022. The Government remains committed to considering the case for more comprehensive and enduring reform to marriage law once the Law Commission has completed its fundamental review of the law in this area.
I believe that the requirement for venues to be seemly and dignified should be maintained. However, I welcome that, alongside the Law Commission review, outdoor civil wedding and partnership ceremonies in England and Wales have been legalised for the first time. This change, which was initially introduced as a temporary measure but has been extended indefinitely, offers greater choice to couples in a boost to the wedding sector after a very challenging period.
I will be following developments in this area closely and look forward to reading the Law Commission's report which I hope will contain a clear and comprehensive view of the opportunities associated with comprehensive reform to marriage law.
Thank you again for taking the time to contact me.