As the latest official figures were published showing that the marriage rate has fallen to an all-time low of 279,000 weddings a year, Straw said the Government was determined to ensure there is a growing future for family life in Britain. He added he did not intend to stigmatise other kinds of families but the evidence suggested two married parents most readily provided the stability children need.

Ministers believe the new baby-naming ceremonies at register offices are a good way of enabling grandparents andthe rest of the family to show support for the new-born child whether their parents are married or not. In some cases it might be the first time both sets of grandparents have even met.

The concept, pioneered by the Baby Naming Society which was set up by the Labour peer Lord Young of Dartington, is seen as a secular answer to the decline in Church of England baptisms, from 365,000 in 1940 to 150,000 in 1995. It would allow the parents to pledge their commitment to the child's upbringing and announce the name.

The ceremony is also seen within Whitehall as a way of appointing godparents without having to go to church. The title is usually acceptable even though the ceremony occurs outside the religious setting, but the terms lay parents, honorary parents or even special friends of the child can also be used. There is no longer any restriction on where the naming ceremony is held. It does not have to be in the municipal register office and could be held anywhere, including homes and gardens, and could takemany forms such as reading poems or promises written by parents and even planting trees.

Rosie Styles, director of the Baby Naming Society, said: "In the same way that we have civil marriages for people who don't want to make a religious commitment, perhaps people would like to make commitments to their children and the place for that would seem to be register offices. It's something which might encourage people to pause and think, what are my responsibilities, what promises do I want to make towards my children."

To compensate for the post-war decline in the Church's role in marriage and parenthood, Straw intends to give state registrars an extended role in providing formal guidance and preparation before marriage. He said there had to be more imaginative ways of helping people to celebrate marriage and affirm their commitment to their children as parents. Civil weddings now account for 60 per cent of marriages.

The register office service is also expected to be made more flexible to allow people totailor the ceremony more to their own needs and beliefs. The present short exchange of tightly defined vows is thought to put off some non-religious couples. It is believed that ministers want to see registrars adopt a pastoral role as a kind of secular vicar, meeting engaged couples and acting as part of the family support services. They may even advise parents unwilling to marry to enter into parental responsibility agreements with each other. The Government is to give pounds 2 million to fund a National Family and Parenting Institute, to be launched next April, which will support the growing voluntary movement of local parenting groups which advise parents on bringing up children.

The proposal to make it less easy to get a "quickie" marriage certificate would affect about one in five couples who marry outside church. The pounds 33.50 special licence was the option chosen earlier this year by the Foreign Secretary, Robin Cook. The christening pledge: "We promise to try to be patient with our baby, neitherdemanding too little or expecting too much. We will try to offer him/her unconditional love regardless of his/her success or failure."