incentive to be married
£150
By 2016 the majority of babies will be born to unmarried couples official figures suggest.
The proportion of children born to non married couples rose in 2012 for the 40th consecutive year to 47.5%. By 2016 it is expected to rise to more than 50%. Is this of concern to society or just a cultural change that we need to accept and adjust to? The former children’s minister Tim Loughton has been reported to have told the Daily Telegraph that without marriage, people “drift in and out of relationships very easily” and he feels that in families where parents break up “children do less well at school, are more likely to suffer mental health problems and are more likely to have substance abuse problems”. Some members of the Conservative Party think that the government need to reward marriage by offering married couples tax breaks. The plans that are being considered would mean married couples would be better off by £150 a year. Personally I do not think that an extra £150 a year is much of an incentive to get married. Aside from that marriage is not just a financial decision; indeed surely the foundation of a strong marriage should be more to do with love not money. I think that families come in all shapes and sizes. I think what is most important for a child is not whether their parents are married but whether they are being brought up in a loving, nurturing and stable family. However, what is a concern is what happens when parents that are not married separate. Many believe in the myth of “a common law marriage”, however there is no such thing. The law doesn’t offer non married parents the same protection as the laws that govern married couples. There is currently no coherent scheme of remedies to relieve financial hardship if the relationship breaks down and comes to an end.
Many believe in the myth of “a common law marriage”
The patchwork of provisions for non married parents can be confusing, illogical and unfair. Many non married parents are not aware of the lack of legal rights and therefore do not see the need to formalise their relationship. I know that the government want more couples to get married, but if they aren’t and children being born out of marriage is on the increase maybe it is time the laws governing non married parents shoul d change. By Gemma Hope
76