§ 66. Mr. Thurtleasked the Home Secretary the figures of the total number of marriages in the United Kingdom for the years 1930 and 1936, respectively; and the number of such marriages in these two years which took place in register offices?
§ Mr. BernaysI have been asked to reply. I will, with the hon. Member's permission, circulate in the OFFICIAL REPORT such information as is available for England, Wales and Northern Ireland. As regards Scotland a question should be addressed to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State.
§ Mr. ThurtleCan the hon. Member say whether such information as he possesses indicates that there is a growth in the number of registered marriages as compared with other marriages?
§ Mr. BernaysPerhaps the hon. Gentleman will be good enough to study the figures.
§ Following is the information:
§ The figures for England and Wales are tabulated at quinquennial intervals. The nearest years to those specified for which figures are available are 1929 and 1934. There were in 1929–313,316 marriages, of which 80,475 were celebrated in register offices, the corresponding figures for 1934 being—342,3o7 and 97,120.
§ The figures for Northern Ireland are as follow:—
| Total marriages. | |||
| 1930 | … | … | 7,547 |
| 1936 | … | … | 9,144 |
| Marriages in registry offices. | |||
| 1930 | … | … | 507 |
| 1936 | … | … | 678 |