rights Archives - Marriage Foundation

Government largely rejects automatic rights for cohabiting couples

In response to a report from the Women and Equalities Committee on rights for cohabiting couples – to which we submitted evidence last year – the government has largely rejected

The lazy thinking behind new proposals to give marriage-like rights to cohabiting couples

This month the House of Commons Women and Equalities Committee published proposals to give rights to unmarried cohabiting couples that are similar or equal to those accruing to married couples.

Should cohabiting couples have the same rights as married couples?

I’ve written about this subject before. But having just been to parliament to give evidence to the Women and Equalities Committee, it’s worth going over the story again because to

Should cohabiting couples have similar legal rights to married couples?

Submission to the Women and Equalities Committee inquiry into the rights of cohabiting partners Sir Paul Coleridge and Harry Benson, Marriage Foundation, July 2021 Marriage Foundation is an independent charity

Family breakdown costs £50bn a year

Family breakdown costs the UK an estimated £50 billion every year — most of which is spent supporting families who move from one to two households when relationships end. Beyond the financial cost, the social and emotional toll on children can be lifelong.

UK Among highest family breakdown in Europe

The UK continues to experience some of the highest levels of family breakdown in Europe. While divorce rates have declined, this improvement has not been matched among cohabiting couples, who remain significantly more likely to separate.

Lower Divorce Rates – Higher Lone Parents

Divorce rates have fallen dramatically over the past three decades. Yet over the same period, the number of lone-parent families has doubled — because couples who live together without marrying or forming a civil partnership are three times more likely to separate than those who do.

Formal commitment is strongly associated with family stability

Stability remains the norm when parents are married or in a civil partnership — around

75% stay together as their children grow up, compared with 30% of cohabiting parents. The act of formal commitment changes how couples think and behave about their relationship, creating a foundation that is more likely to endure.

The parents’ relationship plays a vital role in children’s development

The single most important factor in a child’s healthy development is the stability of their parents’ relationship. Our research consistently shows that family breakdown is the strongest predictor of teenage mental health problems — and that formal commitment through marriage or civil partnership offers the best protection against this instability.

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Government largely rejects automatic rights for cohabiting couples

The lazy thinking behind new proposals to give marriage-like rights to cohabiting couples

Should cohabiting couples have the same rights as married couples?

Should cohabiting couples have similar legal rights to married couples?

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