Gay marriage results in fall in Halton civil partnership numbers

THERE were no civil partnerships between same-sex couples in Halton last year.

The Office For National Statistics (ONS) has released figures for 2016.

The numbers show the ceremony has declined over recent years, with only one recorded in the borough in both 2014 and 2015.

Before then there were nine in 2012 and seven in 2013 across Runcorn and Widnes.

Statisticians have attributed the general drop over the last few years to the introduction of marriages for same-sex couples which was announced in 2013.

Nicola Haines from the ONS Vital Statistics Outputs Branch said: “Following legislative change enabling marriages of same-sex couples from March 2014, civil partnership formations declined as the majority of samesex couples opted for marriage instead.

“However, 2016 represents the first increase in civil partnership formations since this change, showing that a minority of same-sex couples still prefer this option to marriage.

“Interestingly, male couples accounted for 68% of all civil partnerships in 2016, however, our latest marriage statistics show that male couples accounted for only 44% of all marriages formed between same sexcouples in 2014.”

The ONS figures show there were 890 civil partnerships in England and Wales in 2016, an increase of 3.4% compared with 2015.

It was the first annual increase since the introduction of samesex marriages four years ago.

Last year there were 1,313 civil partnership dissolutions granted in England and Wales in 2016 and of these 60% were to couples of women.