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xNew bill proposed to end child marriage in England and Wales
Date: 16th December 2021
Category:
UK Parliament has voted on a new bill proposed to raise the legal age for marriage and civil partnership in England and Wales.
The vote showed cross-party support for a new bill in the House of Commons, meaning the Marriage and Civil Partnership (Minimum Age) Bill, which was given an unopposed second reading, will raise the minimum age of marriage and civil partnership from 16 to 18 in England and Wales.
In a 2020 report to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, Together raised related concerns about the minimum age of marriage in Scotland. The UN Committee has since asked the UK and devolved governments for an update on what they are doing to raise the minimum age of marriage to 18.
- Read Together’s report here.
- Read the UN Committee’s request for information here (paragraph 12).
- Read about the Marriage and Civil Partnership (Minimum Age) Bill here.