Gay weddings may have put an end to the civil partnership
CIVIL partnerships could soon be scrapped as the union appears to have been killed off by the introduction of same-sex marriage.
The Equalities Office has announced that it will consult on the future of civil partnerships before a Supreme Court case beginning today, which aims to open them up to heterosexual couples.
A document published on Friday set out plans for a consultation to assess whether there was still enough demand among same-sex couples since the law was changed to allow them to get married in March 2014.
It said there had been a “significant fall” in the number of civil partnerships, which are only open to gay couples, since the change to the law on marriage. While on average 6,300 were registered each year between 2007 and 2013, the number fell to 890 in 2016, slightly up on the 2015 low of 861.
The Government has asked the Office for National Statistics to include questions about civil partnerships as part of an opinions and lifestyle survey. It will also ask people currently in civil partnerships about their attitude to the union.
“We want to understand why some same-sex couples continue to opt for civil partnership instead of marriage; this is an important part of the evidence base, especially if we decide to phase out or abolish civil partnerships, now that marriage is available to everyone,” the document adds.
Civil partnerships were introduced in 2004 to allow same-sex couples access to legally-recognised unions before they were allowed to marry.
The current law explicitly bars heterosexual couples from becoming civil partners. Academics Charles Keidan and Rebecca Steinfeld have been fighting a legal case against the Government, claiming the civil partnership laws amount to discrimination.
They argue that marriage carries too much “patriarchal baggage” for some couples, and particularly for women, citing issues such as marriage certificates, which have space only for the names of the father of the bride and the groom to be inserted.
The couple attempted to form a civil partnership at Chelsea Old Town Hall in October 2014 but were refused, prompting them to launch legal proceedings. Their case failed at the Court of Appeal last year, although the judges recognised that the law could not remain the same indefinitely.
A Government spokesman said: “The Government introduced civil partnerships as a way of recognising same-sex relationships before same-sex marriage was available. We are proud to have now introduced same-sex marriage.
“We will consult before making changes to the law around civil partnerships. The policy paper published this week will inform and shape a future consultation on civil partnerships.”