I am grateful to my friend the hon. Gentleman for raising that point. It is certainly my hope that churches across the country will be involved in the best possible marriage preparation, but also marriage support, because all of us get into bad habits, including the hon. Gentleman and me, and need little pointers and reminders from time to time.

The Archbishop of Canterbury’s Commission on Families and Households is considering all aspects of this subject and will publish its report in early 2023. The Church of England’s support for families, parenting and marriage comes in many forms. Parishes offer:

• early years groups and children’s clubs to support child development and provide parental support.
• counselling and social support for those in need, such as work with foodbanks, credit unions and Citizens Advice to reduce the pressures of financial difficulty on relationships.
• marriage guidance for couples wishing to marry, prior to the ceremony.
• work with organisations such as Relate to offer relationship advice and support or counselling.
• tackling loneliness in the young and old, by visiting people in care homes and hospitals, and by providing spaces for groups, clubs and societies to meet.

Nationally the Church of England provides resources to clergy and couples considering marriage through the ‘Your Church Wedding’ website: https://www.churchofengland.org/life-events/your-church-wedding This gives advice for couples at all stages of marriage preparation.

Marrying in the local church remains one of the most cost-effective ways of having a relationship recognised in law and costs around £550 (approved by Parliament). This fee can be reduced for pastoral reasons at the discretion of the local Incumbent.

The National Churches Trust report ‘House for Good’ has updated its estimates of the contribution of churches to their local community. The report estimates the national value of the Church’s work on counselling and mental health support at over £4.5million, work with youth groups and young people at an additional £1.8million, support with food and foodbanks at £36million and drug and alcohol support at £0.5million. The full update is available here: House of Good 2021

I thank the hon. Gentleman; sadly, some marriages cannot be saved, but he is right that many marriages, with the appropriate help and support, can be saved. All marriages go through difficult times, and he is right to say that that is an important role for the Church of England.

I think we can do something even before that, because I am very keen on marriage enrichment as well, and I think that the Church can do more to prevent marriages from coming into difficulty in the first place. My hon. Friend is absolutely right, it is a very important role for the Church to play when marriages do run into trouble, and that is what the Archbishop’s joint family and household commission is also looking at.

The Government in principle supports raising the legal age of marriage to 18 years of age by removing the ability to marry at age 16 or 17 with parental consent. We will do so when a suitable legislative opportunity arises. In that context, the Marriage and Civil Partnership (Minimum Age) Bill was introduced by the hon. member for Bromsgrove on 16 June as a Private Members’ Bill. The hon. member for Mid Derbyshire is now sponsoring that Bill and Ministers will meet with her shortly to discuss its provisions. The Government will make its further intentions clear in due course.

Couples who live within a parish or have a qualifying connection to it are able to marry in their parish church according to the rites of the Church of England. Marriage in a church remains a relatively inexpensive option, but an incumbent has the authority to waive some of the fees to help couples who may have particualr financial difficulties or who are on low incomes.

Many parishes attend wedding fayres and work with local businesses, such as florists and events planners, to increase awareness of the options available to couples to be married in their local church.

In response to the Law Commission's announcement of a consultation on reform of wedding law, a Church of England spokesperson said: "Our research shows that being married in a place that has meaning is still important to couples and their families. The moments of waiting to walk down the aisle, standing at the steps, exchanging timeless vows that can only be said in a church, and turning to walk out of the church as a newly married couple, are cherished."

At parish level clergy and parishioners often work with couples to prepare them ahead of their wedding for life together, support them afterwards, and through voluntary activities offer groups and facilities for families and children, which help sustain community.

Marriage preparation work will often include church-led marriage enrichment workshops and other courses and support for couples at every stage of their marriage. Through the Life Events programme the Church is working with clergy and other church leaders to enhance the depth of engagement with couples through wedding planning.

The Church, including through the Bishops in the House of Lords, continues to highlight and address the social and economic issues that place strain on married relationships, including the Bishop of St Albans’s work on the impact of gambling and the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Commission on Housing, Church and Community. The Church of England also made a submission to the Government’s consultation on no-fault divorce and the Lords Spiritual have engaged with the legislation in Parliament.

​As far as we are aware there have been no such discussions in recent times. The British Government is clear, however, that discrimination on the basis of faith is a violation of universal human rights. The right not to be discriminated against by the state extends to the provision of marriage.

We have raised our concerns about the draft Personal Status law with the Iraqi Justice Minister. The law remains in draft, and has not been approved by Iraq’s Parliament. We expect Iraq to uphold its international obligations under UN conventions to protect the rights of women and children.

The hon. Gentleman raises another issue that I am sure will be discussed or touched on over the first two days of next week—the question of registrars who are unhappy with or opposed to conducting same-sex weddings.