Chamber and committees

We recognise that points have been made around the minimum age of marriage and civil partnership and whether young people need more protection.

This is why we have been meeting with interested stakeholders.

There are a range of views here. Increasing the minimum age can be argued to increase safeguards for young people, but such a change can also be seen as removing their right to marry or to enter a civil partnership. Additionally, given the range of rights that people acquire when they reach 16, we need to consider carefully whether broader implications would arise from a change to the minimum age of marriage.

The number of registered marriages in Scotland involving 16- and 17-year-olds is very low. However, we are also aware that there are some concerns regarding unregistered marriage ceremonies and about children and young people being taken abroad to be married.

The forced marriage offence in England and Wales has recently been extended, so that it is an offence there in all circumstances to do anything intended to cause a child to marry before they turn 18. No form of coercion requires to be used and the offence applies where the marriage is to take place outside England and Wales, and regardless of whether the marriage would have legal effect.

We would need to assess if this approach would be right for Scotland. Introducing a similar measure here might have the adverse impact of driving forced marriages even further underground. Forcing someone into marriage is already a criminal offence in Scotland and applies to any religious or civil ceremony of marriage whether or not legally binding. This offence will extend later this year to include forced civil partnerships.

The Scottish Government will continue to listen to stakeholders and the wider debate, as we actively consider our next steps. This will help ensure that we properly assess the potential impacts of changes and, if we take forward a full public consultation, that this includes robust evidence.