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, for what reasons the public consultation will not start before 2020; and if he will make a statement.

The Government is committed to resolving the difference in treatment between same-sex and opposite-sex couples with respect to their ability to form a civil partnership. We want to do this as quickly as possible.

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. We will use this research to understand the total impact of a change in the law, including the cost of either extending or closing civil partnership. Our intention is to complete this research prior to a full public consultation taking place, and to use it to inform the proposed way forward. We anticipate all research will be complete by September 2019, at which point we would prepare the consultation taking account of the evidence gathered.