New Year - New Win as office wedding proposals get the heave ho

Back in November I blogged about the proposal from Cornwall Council to refuse to allow ceremony rooms to be used for basic weddings and civil partnerships. The authority wanted to force less well off couples to use offices for these ceremonies and to restrict the use of ceremony rooms to much more expensive events.  In the case of Launceston, this would have meant that civil weddings and partnership ceremonies would have been held in a windowless office at the back of the library.

I'm delighted to hear that the Council has backed down on this proposal following strong condemnation from myself and other councillors. The new proposal is that all ceremonies will take place in proper ceremony rooms.

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Cornwall Council brings a whole new meaning to 'office romance'

In another mis-guided penny-pinching move, Cornwall Council is trying to save money in the Registration Service. One of the proposals they want to implement is to conduct marriages and civil partnership ceremonies in busy council offices.

So when the bride walks up the aisle (carefully avoiding the photocopier), she may struggle to make herself heard above the noise of ringing phones and Jim from Accounts going through the latest spreadsheets. It's hardly the special day that everybody wants when they get married. I've heard of office romances, but this is ridiculous.

These proposals won't apply to all weddings and civil partnership ceremonies - just to those conducted at the cheapest rate. But as this option is chosen by some of the least well off people in Cornwall, I think it's discriminatory.

But the penny-pinching doesn't end there. Cornwall Council wants to force registration staff onto lower rates of pay and to diminish their status. We have a very well-trained and committed staff, but this will inevitably lead to some of them quitting and a less professional overall service for the people of Cornwall.

I want to halt these proposals and save our valued registration service. I've written to the Leader of the Council asking for him to put a halt to this proposal.

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