(577)  CIVIL PARTNERSHIP STATISTICS

The Registrar-General of Scotland published statistics on the first quarter of civil partnerships on 22 June 2006.   A total of 343 have been recorded since the Civil Partnership Act came into force in December 2005.  From January to March 2006, 259 civil partnerships (167 male and 92 female) were registered, with a further 84 (53 male and 31 female) in December 2005, bringing the number to 343.   Marriages in the first quarter of 2006 (3,493) were down by 9 per cent on the first quarter of 2005 (3,834).