§ Lady Tweedsmuirasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he is aware of the increase in the number of marriages contracted by minors without the parents' consent; whether he is aware that such marriages, even if contracted on the basis of a forged consent, are valid; and what action he proposes to take to put an end to this practice, which causes worry and 130W distress to parents and must inevitably widen the risk of marriages breaking down.
§ Mr. R. A. ButlerI am informed that superintendent registrars take all practicable steps in the case of marriages of minors to verify that the consents required by law have been given. Every person giving notice of marriage by superintendent registrar's certificate has his attention drawn to the fact that if he knowingly makes a false declaration he will be liable to prosecution under the Perjury Act, 1911. My information is that the number of marriages without consent is very small.