§ Mr. MaddenTo ask the Lord President of the Council, pursuant to his answer of 25 February,Official Report, column 1022, if he will seek to arrange for the Crypt, St. Mary's Undercroft, to be licensed for marriages; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. NewtonThe Chapel of St. Mary Undercroft is not registered for marriage ceremonies of any denomination,as I indicated in my letter to the hon. Member for Bradford, West which I quoted in the House last week.However, I regret that in one respect the information which I gave to the hon. Member may inadvertently havebeen misleading. I have subsequently been advised that it is possible for a marriage to take place in the Chapel according to the rites of the Church of England if the Archbishop of Canterbury provides a licence under the Ecclesiastical Licences Act 1533. As to the possibility of registering the Chapel for marriages in the future, that would be a matter for the Lord Great Chamberlain, the Lord Chancellor and the Speaker and I have drawn the hon. Member's question to their attention.