Marriage and Civil Partnership (Minimum Age) Act 2022: Commencement

Mike Freer Excerpts

Monday 27th February 2023 Written Statements

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice (Mike Freer)]

My noble Friend the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Justice, Lord Bellamy KC, has made the following written statement:

Today the Marriage and Civil Partnership (Minimum Age) Act 2022 comes into force.

The Act makes two key changes:

It raises the legal age of marriage and civil partnership to 18 in England and Wales. This means that 16 and 17-year-olds are no longer able to marry or enter a civil partnership under any circumstances, including with parental or judicial consent.

It expands the criminal offence of forced marriage in England and Wales to make it an offence in all circumstances to do anything intended to cause a child to marry before they turn 18. For the forced marriage offence to apply, it is no longer necessary to prove that a form of coercion was used to bring about the marriage of a child. The expanded offence will continue to include ceremonies of marriage which are not legally binding, for example in community or traditional settings.

This important piece of legislation helps deliver on the Government’s commitment to tackle violence against women and girls. It also delivers on our pledge in the UN sustainable development goals to end child marriage by 2030. This Government are keen to make sure that children and young people are protected and supported as they grow and develop. Child marriage can deprive them of important life chances, and that is why we have taken action to stop it. The age of 18 is widely recognised as the age at which one becomes an adult and gains full citizenship rights.

These changes apply to England and Wales only. While marriage is a devolved matter, Northern Ireland are considering this issue and we hope that Scotland will also follow suit.

I am grateful to the hon. Member for Mid Derbyshire, Pauline Latham OBE MP for sponsoring this private Member’s Bill, as well as to the campaigners with whom she has worked. The Act and all of its supporting documentation is available at https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2022/28/notes/division/6/index.htm

The Government’s statutory guidance and multi-agency practice guidelines on forced marriage have also been updated to reflect this legislation, and are available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-right-to-choose-government-guidance-on-forced-marriage

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