National Marriage Week

Lord Etherton Excerpts

Tuesday 20th April 2021 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Scott of Bybrook (Con)]

As my noble friend is, I am sure, aware, the tax system encourages marriage and civil partnerships through the married persons tax allowance. The Government will continue to look at that.

[Lord Etherton (CB)]

My Lords, in the clunky language of the Office for National Statistics, there were estimated to be 71,000

“same-sex married couple families”

in 2020. There was a roughly similar figure for “civil partner couple families” in the same year. Is the Minister able to confirm that any support given by the Government for marriage, whether in recognition of National Marriage Week or in the development of policy, will always include support for same-sex marriages and civil partnerships?

[Baroness Scott of Bybrook (Con)]

I can assure the noble and learned Lord that that is the case. In the tax system and throughout all the support systems the Government are providing for families, we are looking at both marriages and civil partnerships.