Source · Select Committees · Women and Equalities Committee
Recommendation 3
3
Rejected
The lack of comprehensive legal protections for cohabitants upon relationship breakdown means that women, especially...
Recommendation
The lack of comprehensive legal protections for cohabitants upon relationship breakdown means that women, especially women from ethnic minority backgrounds and those who have had a religious-only marriage, can suffer relationship-generated disadvantage. The Law Commission’s proposals for weddings law reform, although welcome, primarily focus on resolving issues around formalised relationships and the validity of marriage ceremonies. Women who feel pressured into a religious- only marriage, other non-legally recognised weddings, or remaining as cohabitants without a formal agreement will remain unprotected by the current law. The Government should undertake a targeted information campaign aimed at women in religious communities where religious-only marriages are commonplace, highlighting the risks of not having a ceremony which meets legal formalities. Such a campaign will need to consider the Law Commission’s recommendations for weddings law reform. (Paragraph 32) Key features applicable upon relationship breakdown
Government response summary AI-generated
The government rejects the recommendation to undertake a targeted information campaign aimed at women in religious communities where religious-only marriages are commonplace, highlighting the risks of not having a ceremony which meets legal formalities because existing work underway on the law of marriage and divorce must conclude before considering any change to the law in respect of the rights of cohabitants on relationship breakdown.
Summary of the government's response below — read the verbatim text to verify.
Government Response
Rejected
HM Government · verbatim extract
Rejected
We partially accept this recommendation. The Government agrees that it is important to reach out to women in religious communities where religious-only (and non-legally binding) marriages are commonplace, to highlight the different consequences of having a non-legally binding wedding and a legal marriage. The recent Law Commission report on weddings law, published on 19 July 2022, includes consideration of this issue and recommendations to ensure that fewer weddings conducted according to religious rites result in a marriage that the law does not recognise. The Government must now take the time to consider all 57 report recommendations fully and will publish a response to the report in due course. The Government will consider the question as to whether it is premature to carry out a targeted information campaign before a decision is made on what marriage law reform, if any, will be pursued.
Read the full response on Parliament ↗