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Written question asked by Nia Griffith (Labour) on Monday, 9 January 2017, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 11 January 2017. It was answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton (Conservative) on Tuesday, 17 January 2017 on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

Ministry of Defence: Weddings

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 9 May 2016 to Question 35843 to the hon. Member for Bridgend, what the outcomes were of the pilot project implemented to explore registering Ministry of Defence sites for civil marriages and partnerships including same-sex unions.

Answer

The pilot project identified a number of sites that may be suitable for registration to carry out civil marriages and partnerships.

Officials visited these sites to identify those which would be most likely to meet the requirements for licensing for civil marriages without impacting Ministry of Defence (MOD) operations or Security.

Officials are in discussion with the Registrar General regarding how best to implement their Guidance on the approval of sites for use for civil marriages and partnerships to MOD sites, after which the shortlisted sites will be taken through the local authority run licencing process which can take up to 12 weeks per site.

In addition sites in Scotland can also be used for civil marriages and partnerships without registration. Any request to use Scottish sites for civil marriages and partnerships would be dependent on security and ongoing MOD training use.

If the initial registration of sites through the pilot project is successful, and once MOD has a clear understanding of the process, other sites will be considered for submission as suitable venues.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
59184
Session
2016-17
Related items
Military Bases: Religious Buildings
Monday, 9 May 2016
Written questions
House of Commons
Subjects
Property Ministry of Defence Weddings
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk