Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the Law Commission review Celebrating Marriage: A New Weddings Law, published on 19 July, which has called for legal recognition for humanist marriages.

The Law Commission report published on 19 July 2022 did not consider the question of whether non-religious belief organisations, including Humanists, should be able to conduct legally binding weddings. The report contains 57 recommendations for legislative reform .

We must now take the time to consider the Law Commission’s recommendations fully. As has been set out in Parliament, marriage will always be one of our most important institutions, and we have a duty to consider the implications of any changes to the law in this area very carefully, including balancing the needs and interests of all groups. We will publish a response to the report in due course