Resolution, the family justice campaign body, has today backed calls from a cross-party committee of MPs to give greater protection to cohabiting couples.
Reacting to the publication of the House of Commons Women and Equalities Committee report on The Rights of Cohabiting Partners, Graeme Fraser, Chair of Resolution’s Cohabitation Committee, said:
“The lack of rights for cohabiting couples has seen millions of people – often women – at significant financial risk if their relationship ends or their partner passes away. Now is the time for ministers to finally grasp the nettle and reform laws to ensure cohabiting families have better legal protection.
“Cohabiting families are the fastest growing family type in England and Wales and yet lack even the most basic legal protections. Ministers have a moral obligation to act now to protect them – otherwise, left unreformed, the current law will consign even more families to misery and dire financial hardship.”
Mr Fraser, who provided evidence to the Committee during its inquiry, added:
“Resolution members have been campaigning for the law to change for many years. With the publication of this report adding to the growing number of calls for reform – including from the Law Commission – we now call on the Government to take forward the committee’s recommendations and end the legal limbo faced by millions of families in England and Wales.”
Read Resolution’s written submission to the Women and Equalities Committee here.
