More Scots choosing to wed

Statistics released today by the Registrar General for Scotland show that

a total of 8,288 couples wed between April and June - up by 411 on the same period last year.

The rise follows five consecutive quarterly falls.

But civil partnerships fell by 18 to 127, comprising of 53 male and 74 female.

Registrar spokesman Duncan Macniven said: "Today's figures show a rare increase in the number of marriages in Scotland, although marriage rates fluctuate through the year and quarterly data can't be taken as indicative of the year ahead."

The numbers of deaths, marriages and civil partnerships registered during the second quarter of 2010 were published today.

A total of 14,743 births were registered between April and June - 123 fewer than in the same period of 2009.

Taking the first two quarters of the year together, the number of births is slightly higher than in the first six months of 2009.

There were 12,812 deaths registered in Scotland in the second quarter of 2010 -42 more than in the same period of 2009.

Deaths from coronary heart disease and stroke fell by 4.6 % and 4.5 % respectively, although deaths from cancer rose by 2.3 %, the figures show.