The legal age of marriage and civil partnerships has raised from 16 to 18 in England and Wales - adults could face jail time for facilitating underage marriages.

On the 26th April, a bill that was put forward last year by Conservative MP Pauline Latham, was approved by the House of Lords with support from both Government and opposition parties.The policy is set to receive Royal Assent and become legally binding later this week.Until now, it was possible for 16 or 17 year-olds to get married or have a civil partnership with parental consent.

The new law will also apply to any religious or cultural marriages that are mot registered with the couples' local council.Adults who facilitate marriages for anyone under the new legal age could face up to seven years in prison as well as a fine. However, the children involved will not face any penalties.This offence will apply "whether or not it is carried out in England and Wales".

Consequently, if adults decide to take children out of the country with the intention of marrying them they will still face the penalties outlined above. Pauline Latham, who introduced the bill, stated that it would "transform the life chances of many girls" She was "thrilled" that the bill was "on its way to becoming law" and wished to give a "thank you to all those who have supported the campaign to end child marriage once and for all in this country."Justice Secretary Dominic Raab, who has backed Ms Lantham's bill, informed the Sun that "forced child marriage ruins lives."

He would add that, "we back this Bill to keep vulnerable young people safe, by raising the legal age of marriage to 18, and closing gaps in the law which leave them at risk.'Payzee Malika, who was coerced into marriage from a young age, tweeted: "This law could have saved her.She would go on to comment that, "this morning my thoughts were clouded with the day I became a child bride."My day started today and that day, very early. Anxious both days. Scared both days. Tears both days."But today tears of joy roll down my face because I know what this means for girls like me."