Civil Partnerships, Marriages and Deaths (Registration etc.) Act 2019

Policy background

Marriage registration

2. This Act enables the introduction of a "schedule" system for the registration of marriages in England and Wales, similar to that already in place for civil partnerships in England and Wales and for marriages and civil partnerships in Scotland and Northern Ireland. The basis of this system is that the parties sign a document (called a "marriage schedule") instead of signing the marriage register book. The schedule is then returned to the register office for the marriage to be registered in an electronic register maintained by the Registrar General.
3. Under the proposed new system, instead of superintendent registrars in the district(s) of the parties' residence issuing two certificates authorising the marriage to proceed, the superintendent registrar in the district in which the marriage is to be solemnized will issue one schedule for the couple. The schedule will contain all the information to be entered into the marriage register. The marriage will not be able to proceed without a schedule being issued.
4. The schedule will be taken to the marriage and, following the ceremony, it will be signed by the couple, witnesses, the person officiating and the person responsible for ensuring the schedule is signed. This is in place of signing the current marriage register book.
5. The couple will be responsible for ensuring the signed schedule is returned to the register office to be registered in the electronic marriage register. However, for all civil marriages (and those religious marriages attended by a registrar) it is anticipated that the registrar will retain the schedule and take it back to the register office to be registered.
6. Those marrying in the Church of England or Church in Wales will still be able to marry by ecclesiastical preliminaries, i.e. banns, common licence or Archbishop of Canterbury’s Special Licence. These preliminaries will continue to act as the authority for the marriage to proceed.
7. Where ecclesiastical preliminaries are used, the member of the clergy will issue a "marriage document" similar to the schedule issued by the superintendent registrar but which does not act as the authority for the marriage to proceed. This will be taken to the marriage and signed by the couple, their witnesses and the member of the clergy. The couple will be responsible for returning the signed marriage document to the register office.
8. In all cases, marriage certificates can be issued from the electronic register when the marriage has been registered. Only registration officials (the Registrar General, superintendent registrars and registrars of marriage) will be able to issue marriage certificates.
9. With the introduction of a schedule system there will no longer be a requirement for the system of quarterly returns as all marriage entries will be held on the single electronic register maintained by the Registrar General.
10. The proposed system will not prevent churches or other religious buildings from keeping their own record of marriages. There is no change to the content of the marriage ceremony and couples will still be able to obtain a marriage certificate following the registration of their marriage.
11. The changes are intended to increase the security of marriage records by removing the requirement for open marriage register books and blank certificates to be held in churches and other religious buildings, where they can be a target of theft.
12. Since 1837, the marriage register entry in England and Wales (and consequently marriage certificates, which are a certified copy of the entry) has included details of the fathers of the spouses, but not their mothers. Although changes to the content of the register entry could be made by secondary legislation (as the particulars required to be registered are prescribed in regulations under section 55(1) of the Marriage Act 1949), any change would necessitate replacement of all 84,000 marriage register books currently in use. The change to an electronic system will enable the form and content of the marriage register entry to be easily amended to include, for example, the details of both parents of the couple, without having to replace all marriage register books.

Extension of civil partnership

13. The Civil Partnership Act 2004 was introduced to provide legal recognition to same-sex couples at a time when marriage was not available to them. Currently, only same-sex couples can form a civil partnership in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland; opposite-sex couples have never been able to form a civil partnership in any of those jurisdictions.

Report on registration of pregnancy loss

14. The Births and Deaths Registration Act 1953 requires all still-births (where a baby is still-born after 24 weeks gestation) to be registered by a registrar. Parents of babies who are still-born receive a medical certificate certifying the still-birth and, upon registration, can register the baby's name and receive a certificate of registration of still-birth. When a pregnancy ends before 24 weeks gestation, however, there is no formal process for parents to legally register the loss.
15. Many of the care considerations for parents experiencing a still-birth will be similar for those experiencing a pregnancy loss which occurs before 24 weeks gestation. Local policies, however, may affect the type and place of care offered or available depending on the gestation when pregnancy loss occurs.
16. In particular, registration certificates are often greatly valued by parents as a way of recognising and naming their baby. Some parents who experience a pregnancy loss find it very distressing that they are unable to legally register their loss.

Coroners’ investigations into still-births

17. Under the Coroners and Justice Act 2009, coroners have a duty to investigate deaths in certain circumstances, such as where the death is violent or unnatural. Coroners can only investigate the deaths of babies who show signs of life after being born, not babies who die before or during labour. Coroners can commence an investigation to decide if a duty to conduct an investigation arises if there is any doubt as to whether a baby was still-born but their investigation must end if they find it was a still-birth. They will not investigate the circumstances of why the baby was still-born.
18. In November 2017, the then Secretary of State for Health and Social Care announced that the Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch would conduct independent investigations into all English cases of term intrapartum still-birth, neonatal and maternal death and birth-related brain injuries (as defined by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists’ "Each Baby Counts" criteria). There is however a question of whether coroners should have a role to play in investigating still-births to contribute to learning and reducing the still-birth rate.