According to the government census of England and Wales in 2021, having children outside of marriage has gained significant popularity within the last decade. This contrasts the climate in 2001, with figures showing that 60% of children born in England and Wales during 2001 were born to married couples whereas only 40% were born outside of marriage. Data released for 2021 show the number of babies being born outside of marriage has surpassed that of those born to married couples, with a substantial 51.3% of children being born to unmarried couples and 48.7% by married couples.
This significant shift demonstrates a changing of the tide throughout England and Wales, with marriage appearing to lose its appeal among the younger generation. With less emphasis on tradition, there has been a modernisation of families within the UK and the statistics clearly echo this. People are finding that families can operate outside the confines of marriage and that there are modern day solutions to issues that may arise from a separation – including separation agreements and child arrangement orders.
With more and more children being born into cohabitating families, is it not high time that the law provides some much-needed protection for cohabiting couples on par with the protection offered to married couples? If the recent figures are anything to go by, it seems there may need to be significant reform to the current laws regulating cohabitation if the law is to keep up with the younger generations.