Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what guidance his Department has made available for people who (a) want to have a legally recognised humanist marriage and (b) must also have a civil marriage to gain legal recognition but are unable to do so as a result of the challenges of registrar availability in some parts of country following the covid-19 outbreak.

A Law Commission report due later this year is expected to present options for wholesale reform to the law governing marriage ceremonies, which the Government will consider carefully. Options being explored by the Law Commission include offering couples greater flexibility to form their own ceremonies, allowing the ceremony to take place in a much broader range of locations, and powers to hold weddings remotely in a national emergency. The Government will decide on provision for non-religious belief marriage in light of the Law Commission's recommendations.

Delivery of registration services falls to local authorities who continue to manage the demand for civil marriage within their respective geographical areas during recovery from the pandemic