Cohabitation Bill [HL]

My Lords, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Lester, for introducing this Bill and for his detailed explanation. I believe it to be very necessary. Increasing numbers of people now cohabit. More than one-third of people have cohabited in the past, as did I many years ago, although we later married. About 11 per cent of people cohabit today. Marriage rates are falling but cohabitation is increasing and many such couples have children. But current law gives such couples no rights if the relationship terminates. They are treated as unrelated individuals, which means that many women and children fall into poverty at the end of a relationship. Many people in such relationships do not realise that that could occur. They think that there is such a thing as common law marriage, but there is not. The Bill is an attempt to provide protection for vulnerable people, and our law should evolve to meet the needs of a changing society. As we have heard from the noble Lord, Lord Lester, there is evidence of strong support for such a Bill. Many people believe that a cohabiting partner should have a right to financial provision if the relationship has been long-term, includes children or has involved prioritising one partner’s career over the other’s career. There could also be a situation in which one partner had been the carer of the other. The Bill will not undermine marriage or civil partnership. It has not done so in countries such as Australia where similar legislation has been introduced. But it will provide some financial protection for otherwise vulnerable people. The courts will be able to make a financial award only if it is fair, thus making sure that the welfare of children is given priority. That could include child care costs to enable a primary-carer parent to work. There would also be new rights for the surviving partner in the event of the death of the other. The couple would have had to have lived with each other for a minimum of two years or have a child together. There would also be a right to opt out after appropriate legal advice. As we have heard, the Family Law Bar Association is in favour of this Bill. It categorically states: ""The law as it currently operates is not only unable to provide fair solutions for cohabitants at the end of their relationship but also lacks coherence, can be unpredictable and is expensive to operate, thus further reinforcing the difficulties faced by economically weaker cohabitants when their relationships fail"." This is humane and worthwhile legislation which I urge the House to support.