Borough has lowest civil partnership rate

THERE was only one civil partnership ceremony in Halton last year as the borough had the fewest in Cheshire.

The Office For National Statistics (ONS) has published the number of civil partnerships last year in England and Wales.

And in Runcorn and Widnes, there was only one ceremony in the borough, which was between two women.

Since the introduction of marriages of same-sex couples in 2014, the figures in the borough for civil partnerships have followed a decreasing trend.

There was only one ceremony in Halton in 2014 and 2015, none in 2016, two in 2017 and one in 2018.

For last year, the three ceremonies each in Warrington and Cheshire East, as well as the five which took place in Cheshire West And Chester, means Halton had the fewest civil partnerships in the county.

Across England and Wales, there were 956 civil partnerships formed in 2018, a rise of 5.3% compared to 2017, and is the third annual increase after a big decrease between 2013 and 2015.

Nearly two thirds of these ceremonies were between men.

Kanak Ghosh of the ONS Vital Statistics Outputs Branch said: “The number of same-sex couples forming a civil partnership increased slightly in 2018, for the third consecutive year.

“Just under 1,000 couples preferred this option to marriage.

“Those choosing to form a civil partnership are more likely to be male or over 50.

“The recent change in the law to make opposite-sex couples eligible to form civil partnerships from the end of this year is likely to bring further increases to the overall number of civil partnerships formed in England and Wales.”