MPs have been told to be patient on weddings reform as pressure continues to mount on the government to allow humanist celebrants to conduct legally binding ceremonies.
In 2022, the Law Commission unveiled recommendations to reform weddings law to create a ‘fairer system’ that would give couples more choice of where and how their ceremony takes place. The commission said its recommendations would ensure the same legal rules applied to all weddings – whether the wedding consisted of a civil ceremony, religious or, if permitted by the government, non-religious belief ceremony such as a Humanist ceremony.
MPs have asked via written parliamentary questions about the government's position on humanist weddings. On Tuesday, Green MP Siân Berry raised the issue in the House of Commons during justice questions.
Acknowledging that the government was focused on wider marriage reform, Berry said humanist weddings could be enabled simply and quickly, by acting on a 2020 High Court ruling. In that case, six couples failed in their bid to win legal recognition for humanist weddings, but the judge stressed the discrimination they suffered ‘is real’.
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Justice minister Alex Davies-Jones said: ‘No one will be more excited to don a hat for the first legally binding humanist wedding than me. However, we must consider whether legislating to provide for humanist marriage would introduce further differential treatment in this complex area of law.
‘That is why we need to make sure that we take the time to get this right. It would also not address other issues in marriage law that affect all groups. As a responsible government, we have to consider this before we set out our position. I appreciate that means that the honourable lady will have to wait just a little bit longer.’
Andy Slaughter, chair of the Commons justice select committee, also wanted to know when weddings reform would happen and whether it would include reforming current cohabitation laws.
Davies-Jones said the commission made 57 recommendations 'and we will be bringing forward information on our package of reforms shortly'.
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