Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-01-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of trends in the numbers of sham (a) marriages and (b) civil partnerships since March 2015.

James Brokenshire

Since the marriage referral scheme commenced on 2nd March 2015, the number of marriages considered to be a sham has reduced slightly although these numbers are too small to indicate any trend.

Referrals under Section 24 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 and allegations have remained stable since March.

From the data extract it is not possible to determine if a notification under the scheme relates to a Civil Partnership or a Marriage as the referrals are identical.