§ Lord Ashbourneasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether arrangements for marriage preparation, referred to in the White Paper Looking to the Future (Cm 2799, April 1995) have been reviewed; and if not, when they are going to be reviewed. [HL1266]
§ The Lord Chancellor (Lord Irvine of Lairg)The Government are committed to finding the most effective ways of supporting marriage. In particular, we recognise the need to ensure that couples are properly prepared to take on the responsibilities of marriage. A one-year programme of marriage support pilot projects, funded by my department, has recently been completed. Three of the 13 projects included marriage preparation.
As I announced on 20 March, I intend to set up an independent review of my department's funding of marriage support and research services. The review will draw on the results of the pilot programme, and will report before the end of 1998.