Policy background
Prior to the implementation of the Act, people can enter a marriage or civil partnership at the age of 18, or at 16-17 with parental or judicial consent. Statistics show that the numbers of people marrying in England and Wales at 16 or 17 were small and continued to decline. Of nearly 235,000 marriages in 2018, only 134 involved one or both persons who were aged 16 or 17 1 .
	Before this Act, it was already an offence for a person to force another person of any age into a marriage, when they used violence, threats or any other form of coercion, and for a person to arrange the marriage of a person who lacks capacity to consent to the marriage under the Mental Capacity Act 2005, whether or not they used violence, threats or any other form of coercion. Both of these provisions encompass any religious or civil ceremony of marriage, whether or not it is legally binding. However, it is not currently an offence (prior to the implementation of the Act), for a person to arrange the marriage of a person under the age of 18, who has capacity to consent under the Mental Capacity Act 2005, where there has been no use of violence, threats or any other form of coercion.
	Both the legal marriage of people aged 16 or 17, and the ‘marriage’ in a ceremony which is not legally binding of a person under the age of 18, represent child marriage. Moreover, research has shown that child marriage is often associated with leaving education early, limited career and vocational opportunities, serious physical and mental health problems, developmental difficulties for the children born to young mothers, and an increased risk of domestic abuse 2 . Statistics show that girls are more likely to be impacted. In England and Wales in 2018, 28 boys married legally under the age of 18 compared with 119 girls.
	The UN Sustainable Development Goals require all countries to "eliminate all harmful practices, such as child, early and forced marriage and female genital mutilations by 2030" 3 . The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child also recommends that there should be no legal way for anyone to marry before they turn 18, even if there is parental consent. In 2016, the Committee recommended to the UK that it raise the minimum age to 18 4 .
	The anticipated effect on the common law of the change to the minimum age of marriage means that marriages of under 18s, which take place abroad, will not be legally recognised in England and Wales if either party is domiciled in England and Wales. The Act establishes a further obstacle to those seeking to take children abroad to marry. It also offers clarity to professionals such as teachers and social workers who are uncertain whether they should report children travelling abroad to marry to the police.
	The changes in the law means there is one less obstacle to children completing their education. Children will also have more time to grow and mature before entering marriage or civil partnership; which is a life-long commitment with significant legal and financial consequences.