Civil Partnerships
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Civil Partnership implementation
E-bulletin June 2005
Introduction In February the Government announced that the Civil Partnership Act will come into force on 5 December 2005. This will allow the first civil partnerships to be formed by registration in England and Wales on 21 December, after the 15 day waiting period has passed. This is the first in a series of e-bulletins to provide more detailed information about civil partnership in England and Wales, in the run up to the Act coming into force. Many of the details of implementation in Scotland and Northern Ireland, such as the implementation date, are the same. However if you have a specific query about civil partnership in Scotland or Northern Ireland, please email: The Scottish Executive civilpartnershipregistration@scotland.gsi.gov.uk Northern Ireland Office of Law Reform In this e-bulletin: Registering your civil partnership Changes to tax law Occupational pensions Changes to Employment regulations Secondary legislation How to sign up for future updates
Registering
your Civil Partnership Some of these procedures differ from those set out in the Civil Partnership Act. This is because the provisions in the Act were drafted so as to be compatible with proposals for the reform of marriage law. These reforms have been postponed and therefore the procedures for civil partnership are being adapted to be made compatible with the current procedures for civil marriage. What arrangements can I make for my civil partnership? Where can I register my civil partnership? What formal requirements have to be met before registration can take place? Who is eligible to register a civil partnership? What is the waiting period for civil partnership? What is the waiting period if one of the couple has changed gender? What time of day can a civil partnership be registered? What information will be made public about my civil partnership? What happens at a civil partnership registration? Can I have a ceremony? What will the whole process cost? Can I use Welsh?
What arrangements can I make for my civil partnership? If you want to register a civil partnership, you will be able to give formal notice your of intention to do so from 5 December 2005. Before this date, you should contact your local register office to find out what provisional arrangements you can make. Some local authorities, such as Brighton and Liverpool, are already taking provisional bookings whereas others are taking expressions of interest from couples. It is up to local authorities to decide what arrangements to make with couples at this stage, however over the next few months it is expected that more and more places will start to take provisional bookings as more details of the procedures for registration become known. Where can I register my civil partnership? The range of places you can register your civil partnership will be broadly similar to those available for civil marriage. Every local authority will be required to provide a facility for the registration of a civil partnership. It will also be possible to register a civil partnership at a venue elsewhere, for example at a hotel, as long as they are approved for this purpose. It will be for you to approach a premises to make arrangements if you want to register the civil partnership there. Any premises that are presently approved for marriage will, with effect from 5 December, be deemed to also be approved for the purposes of civil partnership registrations until the current approval is renewed or expires. After 5 December, premises will be approved for hosting both civil partnerships and marriages. It will also be possible for a civil partnership to be registered at the residence of someone who is housebound or seriously ill and not expected to recover. What formal requirements have to be met before registration can take place? You and your partner will need to each give notice in the area(s) where you have resided for at least seven days. When you give notice, you will be asked to state where you wish the civil partnership registration to take place. If a civil partnership is to be registered outside of the area of residence, you and your partner will still need to give notice in the area(s) where you live. When you each give notice, you will be asked to give the date and place where the civil partnership registration is to take place so these details will need to have been first agreed with the local authority where the registration is going to take place. Example: If you live in Brighton and your partner lives in Eastbourne, but you want to register a civil partnership in a country house hotel in Kent, you will have to give notice to your local register office in Brighton and your partner at Eastbourne register office. When you give this notice, you will both have to be able to give the date and the place where the civil partnership is to be registered, which means that you will have to have arranged this already with the venue and the Kent registration authority. Who is eligible to register a civil partnership?
Two people who are: of the same sex over 18 (or able to provide evidence of consent if 16 or 17) not in an existing marriage or existing civil partnership not related to each other within the prohibited degrees of relationship. Two people will be related to each other within the prohibited degrees of relationship if, for example, one of them is the other person’s grandparent, parent, child or sibling. What is the waiting period for civil partnership? There will be a 15-day waiting period once each person has given notice of intention to register, before the civil partnership can be registered. There will be procedures in place to reduce the 15-day waiting period in exceptional circumstances where there are compelling reasons to do so. For example, if one of the couple has an urgent overseas military posting to a dangerous area. What is the waiting period if one of the couple has changed gender? If one member of a married couple changes gender, under the provisions of the Gender Recognition Act 2004, the marriage has to be annulled in order for a full gender recognition certificate to be issued. (This is the point at which the person legally changes gender). There will be procedures to allow that couple to register a civil partnership as soon as the gender recognition certificate is issued, without being subject to the 15 day waiting period.
For more information about the processes of changing gender go to http://www.grp.gov.uk/
What time of day can a civil partnership be registered? Civil partnerships can only be registered between 8am and 6pm (as is the case for marriage). What happens if someone is seriously ill and not expected to recover? Where one of the couple is seriously ill and not expected to recover, then the civil partnership may be registered at any time of day. The 15-day waiting period would also not apply. The couple would need to provide a certificate from a doctor stating that the person is seriously ill and not expected to recover, that the person cannot be moved to a place where civil partnership registrations normally take place and that they understand the nature and purpose of signing the Registrar General's licence. What information will be made public about my civil partnership? When you give notice of your intention to register a civil partnership, details from the notice will be available in a register office for public inspection (as for marriage) but the details will not include you or your partner’s address. It is important that these details are publicly available during the 15 day waiting period, to allow for objections to be made, just as is the case for marriage. The grounds for objection to a civil partnership are the same grounds for objection to marriage. For example, someone could object if they think the couple are not eligible to register a civil partnership. What
happens at a civil partnership registration? The exact format of this document is still being finalised. There will be words printed on the document which the couple will be able to say at the time of signing the document, though the exact words are still to be confirmed. Can I have a ceremony? You will be able to arrange a ceremony in addition to the signing of the legal documentation if you wish, but a ceremony is not required under the Act. It is up to you to decide. Local authorities might offer a ceremony but there are other organisations who also offer ceremonies too. What will the whole process cost? There will be fees charged for giving notice and for the civil partnership registration itself when this takes place on premises made available by a registration authority. The exact amounts have yet to be determined, but it is expected that they will be similar to those for marriage. Local authorities will set their own fees for civil partnerships which take place at an approved premises. Can I use Welsh? All forms used in Wales in connection with civil partnerships will be printed in both Welsh and English. It will be possible for these forms to be completed either in English or in Welsh and English, as for marriage. Other Civil Partnership Changes There are a wide range of changes to be made as part of the implementation of the Civil Partnership Act, in addition to settling the procedures for registration. These changes include social security, pensions, tax credits and tax, and changes to court procedures. Many of these changes involve amendments to legislation to be made in Parliament over the coming months. Progress in these areas includes: Changes to tax law It was announced in the Budget on 16 March 2005 that the Government would legislate to ensure that civil partners will be treated the same as married couples for tax purposes and this was set out in Section 103 of the Finance Act 2005. Orders will be laid before the House of Commons to make these amendments over the coming months. For further information go to: www.inlandrevenue.gov.uk/budget2005/revbn28.htm The Department for Work and Pensions has just finished consulting on a draft order to amend the contracting out rules to ensure that pension schemes provide survivor benefits for civil partners on the basis of deceased members' rights accrued from 6 April 1988, to treat them on a par with widowers. The responses to the consultation are now being considered and the final order will be laid before Parliament in the next few months. For full details of the proposed draft order: www.dwp.gov.uk/consultations/2005/index.asp Changes to Employment regulations It is proposed that the Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2003 will be amended to require that civil partners and spouses should be treated in the same way in relation to workplace benefits. These amendments will be made in an order before Parliament in the next few months. For full details of the proposed changes go to: http://www.dti.gov.uk/er/equality/eer_2003_amendments.htm Secondary legislation It is intended to lay the secondary legislation, such as tax and pension changes, relating to civil partnership before Parliament in the coming months, both before and after the summer recess. Keep an eye on this website for details. Sign up for e-mail alerts Further bulletins will be placed on the Women and Equality Unit website over the coming months as more information about the implementation of the Act becomes available. If you would like to be sent an e-mail alert when these updates appear, email mailto:info.-civilpartnership@dti.gsi.gov.uk Feedback We’d also welcome your feedback on this e-bulletin; what you did or didn’t find useful, whether the level of detail is right, what other information you would like to see included etc. This will help us in producing future e-bulletins. You can email feedback to info.civilpartnership@dti.gsi.gov.uk |