The legal age for getting married would be increased to 18 under a major overhaul proposed by SNP ministers.

In the first change to marriage age limits in nearly a century, a Scottish Government consultation has set out plans to no longer allowing anyone under 18 to wed.

The change has been proposed to improve child safety and would bring Scotland into line with England and Wales.

But Government officials have also highlighted that it would result in ‘inconsistencies’ with other laws such as the legal age of consent to sexual activity, which will remain 16 – and would mean 16 and 17-year-old parents would be unable to marry.

Unveiling the consultation document yesterday, Community Safety Minister Siobhian Brown said: ‘A marriage or civil partnership is a significant commitment with important legal and financial consequences, so it is essential that it is entered into freely and for the right reasons.

‘This consultation is important as while ceremonies involving under 18s are rare, raising the minimum age would ensure that no one under 18 can enter a legally recognised marriage or civil partnership in Scotland.

‘Family law affects people at some of the most important moments in their lives. The consultation will also look at wider reforms and offers an opportunity to ensure our laws provide greater protection, fairness and transparency, and reflect the needs of modern Scotland.’

Independent MSP Ash Regan said: ‘Child marriage is a hidden crime, but I am concerned that it is very much a live issue in Scotland and across the UK.

‘In Scotland, the legal age is 16 and no parental consent is needed. Campaigners have previously highlighted that this leaves girls vulnerable to grooming and coercion.

‘I want to see new safeguards to prevent coerced marriages for under-18s, to protect their childhoods and their life chances, so I welcome that the Scottish Government has now commenced a consultation after previously confirming to me that they would consult on the matter before the end of this year.’

According to the consultation document, there were a total of 276 marriages in Scotland where at least one person was aged 16 or 17 in the period from 2013 to 2023.

A Scottish Government consultation has set out plans to no longer allow anyone under 18 to wed

Gretna Green was historically popular with young couples hoping to wed due to looser laws in Scotland allowing young couples to wed without parental consent 

Of these, 247 involved a girl aged 16 or 17 and 59 involved a boy of that age – with the consultation document saying girls of this age are typically marrying older men.

Nearly three quarters – 73 per cent – of the marriages involving 16 and 17-year-olds over this 10-year period were solemnised by a local authority registrar.

In 2013, there were 50 marriages involving a 16 or 17-year old in Scotland but this had fallen to 24 in 2017 and 21 in 2023.

In Scotland, the minimum age of marriage has been 16 since 1929.

Setting out the grounds for an increase in the legal marriage age to 18, the Scottish Government consultation document said: ‘Stakeholders supportive of raising the minimum age to 18 see such a change as enhancing protections for children, reducing their exposure to harms.’

But it also said that some people argue that it is not clear how harmful permitting 16 and 17-year-olds to marry actually is, and that more research is needed.

It goes on: ‘Others suggest that reform of the minimum age of marriage and civil partnership would result in inconsistency with other rights exercisable by those aged 16 and over. One example raised is that if the minimum age became 18 this would diverge from the legal age of consent to sexual activity, which is 16.

‘If we raised the minimum age of marriage and civil partnership to 18, parents or expectant parents either of whom is aged 16 or 17 would not be eligible to marry or enter a civil partnership with each other.

‘Marrying or entering a civil partnership with the mother of a child is one of the ways in which a father can obtain parental responsibilities and rights for their child. In addition, a man is presumed to be the father of a child if he was married to or in a civil partnership with the mother.

‘Those who were no longer eligible to marry or enter a civil partnership because of their age and decided to cohabit would not have the same rights as those who marry or enter a civil partnership.’

Currently, people acquire the legal capacity to enter into any transaction at the age of 16, while they can also leave home without parental consent, leave education or take up full-time employment at this age.

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child sets out that anyone under 18 is a child, while a UN sub-committee has highlighted that child marriages are ‘harmful practices’ and encouraged a minimum legal age of 18 for girls and boys, with or without parental consent.

In England and Wales, the minimum age of marriage and civil partnership was raised to 18 in 2023, having previously allowed 16 and 17 year-olds to marry if there was parental or judicial consent.

The Scottish Government consultation will also consider whether the current forced marriage offence should be updated to criminalise conduct intended to cause a person under 18 to marry or enter a civil partnership.

It also proposes updating the definition of ‘cohabitant’ in cases where a partner dies without a will, and simplifying divorce procedures for couples with children under 16, where there are no welfare arrangement disputes.