CIVIL PARTNERSHIPS, MARRIAGES & DEATHS (REGISTRATION etc) BILL

1 March 2019

Lord Faulkner of Worcester
moved Amendment 1

My Lords, Amendment 1 is in my name and that of my noble friend Lord Collins of Highbury. This amendment is similar, but not identical, to the amendment I moved ​in Committee. The changes I have made to it reflect the concerns expressed in that debate by the Right Reverend Prelate the Bishop of Chelmsford, and the briefing note I subsequently received from Church House.

Your Lordships will be aware that under the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 the Church of England and the Church in Wales are subject to what is called the “quadruple lock”.

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Lord Faulkner of Worcester

My Lords, I think I can answer the noble Baroness with a reply to that very last point. I gave her my word during the week that I did not intend to divide the House at the end of the debate for the very reason she said. I would not wish to do anything that made it more difficult for the Bill to get through the House of Commons and become law. It is a very good Bill. I congratulate her on the way she has presented it. She sat patiently through a debate that was not directly on the main subject of the Bill, and I accept that.

For that reason, I will not divide the House.

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Amendment 1 withdrawn