House of Lords: draft Registration of Marriages Regulations 2021

On Tuesday 23 March, the House of Lords approved the draft Registration of Marriages Regulations 2021, which amend the Marriage Act 1949 to enable the introduction of a schedule-based system for the registration of marriages in England and Wales.

During the debate, Baroness Sherlock (Lab) said that she had had representations from clergy worried about the lack of notice. One had said:

“We feel a bit stunned about the timing of these changes. We were told some time ago that they were planned and then everything went quiet, and it seems like a strange time to be introducing them now, with a very short lead-in time, with many churches just reopening and the Covid guidance on weddings (and other things) likely to change again soon.” Continue reading