Question

To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, with reference to the command paper, Future operation of Civil Partnerships, Cm. 9606, published in May 2018, what additional information is being sought by her Department in its latest consultation on extending civil partnerships.

The command paper, “The Future Operation of Civil Partnership: Gathering Further Information” (Cm. 9606), details four pieces of research that the Government are undertaking to assess the demand for civil partnership and help inform a decision about their future. These are to:

(1) Assess trends in civil partnership and marriage formations amongst same-sex couples

(2) Undertake surveys to assess demand for civil partnership and marriage amongst unmarried people in opposite-sex relationships in the UK

(3) Undertake research into the motivations of same-sex couples who continue to choose civil partnership

(4) Review the experience of other countries to understand the choices people actually make when faced with a choice between marriage and other forms of relationship.

The command paper also commits to a full public consultation following the completion of this research.

These activities will help us to put forward a specific recommendation about how civil partnership should change in the future. This differs from previous consultations, which asked people about a range of options including maintaining the status quo