DadTalk

Unmarried parents to blame for rise in broken homes

The sharp increase in unmarried couples having children was to blame for the rise in parental separation rates, a study from the Centre for Social Justice think-tank claimed.

The sharp increase in unmarried couples having children was to blame for the rise in parental separation rates, a study from the Centre for Social Justice think-tank claimed.

The report called for a major shift in policy to reassert the "vital" importance of marriage as a more stable form of commitment than cohabitation.

The research suggested that the taxpayer spent billions of pounds on benefits for single parents as a result of the "utterly avoidable" breakdown in families every year. It followed concerns from Iain Duncan Smith, the work and pensions secretary, that society pays a "heavy price" for separation, in terms of the cost of crimes committed by children from broken homes, lost taxes and rising benefit bills.

Growing numbers of couples are choosing to start a family without getting married first. But the study cited figures showing that unmarried couples were more likely to separate.

It warned that the number of children who will see their parents split up by the time they are 16 had risen from 40% in the mid-1980s to 48% today.

The study drew on figures from the Office for National Statistics and the Millennium Cohort Study and took account of differing levels of education and income. It was written by Harry Benson, founder of the Bristol Community Family Trust, a relationship education charity.

Mr Benson said ministers should focus on improving the stability of unmarried couples through education and policies that promote marriage.

Gavin Poole, the executive director of the CSJ, said the report was "alarming".

"It is well known that children from broken homes do less well at school and are more likely to turn to drugs, alcohol and crime," he said. "Tax breaks for marriage and far better relationship education, should be taken by ministers and society at large to reverse these worrying social trends."

Read more at the Telegraph.