Worrying Ongoing Decline in UK’s 2 Busiest Register Offices for Civil Partnerships
2 guys in love - but do they want a civil partnership?
Early indications show that UK civil partnerships continue to decline from their initial surge after the Civil Partnership Act came into force in December 2005.
The two most popular register offices for civil partnerships – Westminster and Brighton and Hove – have confirmed the number of 2008 civil partnerships registered in their districts are down between 14% and 17% on 2007 figures*. The official national figures for 2008 are not released for another 3 months by the Office of National Statistics.
The national figures for 2007 were already very low compared to 2006, although this would be expected with the pent-up demand after the change in the law. In 2007 8728 same sex civil partnerships were formed in the UK, compared to 16106 in 2006+.
However Westminster’s and Brighton and Hove’s 2008 figures indicates a further decline in the popularity of civil partnerships if extrapolated across the UK. Westminster Register Office recorded 282 civil partnerships in 2008, compared to 341 in 2007, and Brighton and Hove’s figures were 274 for 2008, compared to 321 for 2007.
Alison Cathcart, Superintendent Registrar of Westminster Register Office, said she did not feel that the 17% drop in 2008 showed an underlying reduction in popularity for same sex partnerships, but instead reflected a further adjustment to the initial rush after the Civil Partnership Act was introduced.
Her comments were mirrored by Trevor Love, Superintendent Registrar of Brighton and Hove Register Office, who said that marriages were also slightly down last year. He went on to add that for this year “The number of couples registering for civil partnerships is picking up.”
It remains to be seen whether this trend is reflected across the UK, and if it is, whether it marks a continuing decline in the popularity of civil partnerships in the UK gay population, or simply a prolongued adjustment to the initial surge after the Act was introduced in December 2005.
By staff writer
* Source Westminster Register Office and Brighton and Hove Register Office
+ Source Office for National Statistics
(c) Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
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