When once 16 and 17-year old's were able to legally marry with the consent of parents, MP's have backed the notion to raise the minimum age of marriage to 18-years-old.

Conservative MP Pauline Latham insists that the current legal marriage age allows children to become coerced into unions that could prove to be extremely damaging. Mrs Latham discloses that children as young as seven are being made to marry with minimal legal consequences for the adults who have orchestrated it.

The proposed bill has been unopposed by fellow MP's, with Health Secretary, Sajid Javid, having played a major role in its implication. He states that this is an opportunity for the government to show unambiguously that child marriage is child abuse and should not be tolerated in this country.

The purpose of this new bill would be to send a clear message throughout England and Wales that child marriage is unacceptable. Figures from the charity, Karma Nirvana, show 76 known cases of child marriage in England and Wales in the last 12 months.

Under the new law, adults could face up to seven years in jail and a fine for facilitating child marriage, including adults who plan child marriages abroad.

Despite these future amendments to the England and Wales law, 16-year-olds in both Northern Island and Scotland will still be able to get married. In Scotland, parental consent is still not necessary.