Written question asked by Lord Lester of Herne Hill (Liberal Democrat) on Wednesday, 4 June 2014, in the House of Lords. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 18 June 2014. It was answered by Baroness Northover (Liberal Democrat) on Tuesday, 17 June 2014 on behalf of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

Marriage

Question: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to introduce a measure enabling civil partners to marry.[HL7]

Answer: Section 9 of the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 provides that civil partners may convert their civil partnership into marriage under regulations to be made by my Right Honourable friend the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport. Her Majesty’s Government is working hard to ensure that couples wanting to convert their civil partnerships into marriages are able to do so as soon as possible. The aim is to do this before the end of 2014.

Secondary information