The government rejects the recommendation to undertake a targeted information campaign aimed at women in religious communities where religious-only marriages are commonplace, highlighting the risks of not having a ceremony which meets legal formalities because existing work underway on the law of marriage and divorce must conclude before considering any change to the law in respect of the rights of cohabitants on relationship breakdown.

The Government rejects the recommendation, stating that reform of inheritance and family provision rights for cohabitees needs to be considered as part of the wider approach to reform of the law on cohabitation rights and intends to take a cautious approach, preferring to let individuals set their affairs in order via a will.

HM Treasury rejects the recommendation to implement the Law Commission’s 2011 recommendations concerning intestacy and family provision claims for cohabiting partners; publish clear guidelines on how pension schemes should treat surviving cohabiting partners; and review the inheritance tax regime so it is the same for cohabiting partners as it currently is for married couples and civil partners because the government has no plans at present to extend the longstanding treatment of spouses and civil partners to cohabiting partners as the inheritance tax treatment of married couples and civil partners reflects their unique legal relationship.