SNP set to ban under-18s from getting married
- Scotland set to fall according to England in bid to guard weak kids and sort out pressured marriage
People beneath 18 may quickly be banned from getting married beneath modifications being thought of by the Scottish Government.
The present minimal age to tie the knot is 16, however Ministers are to carry a session on elevating it.
The transfer has been prompted by a United Nations committee which raised considerations that the regulation as it stands may result in kids being exploited.
Raising the age restrict would convey Scotland into line with England and Wales, which elevated it to 18 this yr as a part of efforts to defend weak kids and sort out pressured marriage.
Teenage weddings in Scotland are comparatively unusual – solely 18 marriages out of greater than 30,000 final yr concerned one or each events being beneath the age of 18.
Earlier this yr First Minister Humza Yousaf instructed there was no have to comply with England’s lead and alter the regulation in Scotland. He mentioned: ‘I don’t suppose it’s a big precedence. We have good legal guidelines in place for kids and there are safeguards right here in Scotland.’
The Scottish Government is contemplating altering the regulation to forestall folks beneath 18 getting married
Tiny village rivals Las Vegas as iconic venue
Gretna Green’s is legendary for being a spot for ‘runaway’ weddings.
With a inhabitants of just some hundred, it could be an in any other case unremarkable Scottish village.
However, Gretna Green’s location two miles from England led to world fame as a spot for ‘runaway’ weddings.
The Clandestine Marriages Act of 1753 meant anybody beneath 21 couldn’t marry in England or Wales with out parental consent.
But the regulation didn’t apply in Scotland, that means that Gretna Green grew to become the go-to place for kids decided to wed.
A marriage business sprang up, with Gretna’s blacksmiths and inns changing into the situation for tens of 1000’s of weddings. Changes meant the authorized marriage age for all components of the UK was 16 till this yr.
But Gretna retains its declare to fame as an iconic location for tying the knot, alongside the likes of Las Vegas.
Nowadays there are a number of marriage ceremony venues within the village, with round 5,000 marriages over the standard blacksmith’s anvil every year.
However, Community Safety Minister Siobhian Brown has now confirmed that the Scottish Government is to think about elevating the restrict.
She mentioned: ‘We have been gathering views from a range of stakeholders and considering the next steps, following the recent observation of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child that we prohibit all marriages of under 18s.
‘Whilst very few 16 and 17-year-olds marry or register a civil partnership in Scotland each year, I have now decided that the Scottish Government should consult formally in 2024. Reform of the age of marriage is a potentially cross-cutting area given other rights that we permit 16 and 17-year-olds to exercise.
‘We need to consider the full implications of any change in the minimum age of marriage and civil partnership and whether any change is needed to the existing criminal law on forced marriage.’
For a few years, Scotland and England had totally different guidelines on the marriageable age.
People beneath 21 had been prevented from marrying in England or Wales with out their mother and father’ consent following an Act of Parliament within the 1750s.
As it was nonetheless authorized in Scotland to marry with out such consent, {couples} started crossing over the Border to get wed, resulting in Gretna Green, two miles into Scotland, changing into a famed location for eloping {couples} to tie the knot.
Consultations may even take within the Scottish Law Commission’s draft Bill to reform the regulation on a cohabitant’s monetary rights in opposition to their former companion after they separate.
The plans may even look into entitlement to ‘financial provision from their deceased partner’s property’ the place that companion has died and not using a will.
When the change to the wedding age got here into drive in England and Wales in February, then Justice Secretary Dominic Raab mentioned: ‘This law will better protect vulnerable young people by cracking down on forced marriage in our society.’
It’s understood that consultations by the Scottish Government will start early subsequent yr.
Findings are anticipated to be revealed by the summer season, forward of any attainable change within the regulation.
A spokesman for the Scottish Government mentioned: ‘We want to carefully consider the full implications of any change.’
