Key Facts

• The names of Bob Blackman and Nick Fletcher were incorrectly published in support of new clause 4 and new clause 5.
• The amendment would extend the minimum legal period for a divorce from six months to one year.
• New Clause 1 would amend Section 22 of the Family Law Act 1996 to mandate support services before and during marriage, including counselling for couples seeking divorce.
• New Clause 2 requires an annual report on the impact of divorce proceedings starting no later than 18 months after the Act comes into force.
• New Clause 3 proposes reducing the separation period from two years to one year with consent for a no-fault divorce in England and Wales.
• New Clause 4 would amend Schedule 1 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 to include divorce proceedings under legal aid eligibility.
• New Clause 5 mandates a review within six months on the cost-benefit analysis of providing legal aid for divorce proceedings.
• New Clause 6 amends the definition of domestic violence in legal aid family matters to include financial abuse as defined by the Care Act 2014.
• The Bill is criticized as sending out the wrong message at the wrong time.
• In a national opinion survey, 71% believed fault should remain part of divorce law.
• The Government's consultation showed that 80% opposed the proposals.
• The amendment aims to extend the minimum legal period for divorce from six months to one year.
• New clause 1 would increase funding for relationship counselling and provide support for couples applying for divorce.
• Only 9% of married couples who split one year later are high conflict couples.
• Over 40% increase in divorce inquiries due to the current lockdown crisis.
• The Government committed £2.5 million towards marriage support services in the last Budget.
• The Government invested £46.9 million in relationship support services between 2014-2019.
• Family breakdown costs the UK at least £51 billion annually.
• Amendment 2 would define the start of divorce proceedings clearly, ensuring that the 20-week period starts after service on the other party is confirmed at court.
• Labour supports reforming outdated divorce laws.
• There is currently no such thing as a no-fault divorce in UK law.
• People must spend two years separated before filing for divorce if there is no blame.
• If one party objects to divorce, the other must remain married for five years.
• Amendment 1 would extend the minimum legal period for divorce from six months to one year.
• The right hon. Member for New Forest West (Sir Desmond Swayne) stated on Second Reading that removing fault from the process would diminish parents using children as weapons in divorces.
• Amendments 3, 4 and 5 are seen as attempts to prolong divorce proceedings.
• Financial settlements should be reached quickly to enable a divorcing couple to live apart.
• New clause 3 aims to reduce the divorce waiting period from two years to one year.
• New clause 4 seeks to extend legal aid for divorce proceedings.
• New clause 5 proposes a review within six months on the impact of extending legal aid.
• New clause 6 would list financial abuse as a specific condition for civil legal aid.
• Bereavement support is currently only available if parents are married, denying benefits to unmarried couples.
• Bob Neill has personal experience as a constituency MP and lawyer.
• The Bill aims to make the divorce process easier and less confrontational.
• Neill agrees with supporting marriage and relationship support but believes it should be addressed separately from this Bill.
• About 10% of divorce petitions do not proceed to final conclusion.
• Some divorces can be prolonged up to two or five years due to procedural reasons or lack of cooperation from respondents.
• The Family Law Act 1996 pilot information meetings showed that people often want to move on by this stage.
• Around 60% of divorces in England are based on adultery allegations.
• The existing legislation retains the ability to take conduct into account when dealing with financial matters.
• Withdrawing legal aid from family cases did not result in more people going to mediation as expected.
• Lawyers act as gateways to mediation, and individuals without legal assistance are unlikely to seek mediation.
• New clause 9 seeks to address the consequences for children whose parents are not married or divorced.
• The bereavement support allowance is not available to partners who were not married or divorced, affecting about 2,000 families a year and 3,500 children in total.
• In August 2018, the Supreme Court ruled that denying widowed parent’s allowance to unmarried parents was incompatible with human rights legislation.
• The Bill retains irretrievable breakdown as the ground for divorce but allows it to be proved by mere assertion without evidence.
• New clause 3 proposes a reduction of separation period from two years to one year, similar to Scotland where 95% of divorces are on this basis.
• Some 50% of people regret getting divorced due to emotional reasons such as still loving their partner or missing them.
• The Marriage Guidance Council changed its name to Relate.
• The DWP programme for marriage guidance services is only funded for the next nine months.
• Chope criticizes the lack of ambition in the Bill, suggesting it undermines marriage security.
• Leadsom experienced divorce as a child.
• Up to 50% of people later come to regret their divorce due to various reasons such as loneliness or financial deprivation.
• Leadsom advocates for a period of reflection after six months of judicial separation.
• The estimated cost of family breakdown is £51 billion per year.
• Government forecast spending on relationship support in the last financial year was £10.2 million.
• Counselling and relationship education resulted in positive changes in individuals’ relationship quality, well-being, and communication.
• Couple counselling and certain types of marriage preparation were cost effective.
• The Family Law Act 1996 mentions marriage and relationship support services.
• A previous Lord Chancellor, Lord Mackay, stated that such services were an essential part of divorce reform.
• In 2018, there were 91,299 divorces in England and Wales.
• Around 10% of people who engage in marriage counselling decide not to divorce.
• New clause 1 and amendment 7 are identical.
• The amendments aim to make grants available for marriage preparation, enrichment, support, civil partnerships, and relationship support.
• Labour and Conservative Governments have supported this issue since the Denning report of 1947.
• The Government's reducing parental conflict programme is narrowly focused on working couples with parental conflict.
• Amendment 1 would increase the minimal legal time period for divorce to 12 months instead of six.
• The current law has a two-year separation period with or without fault, accounting for about 40% of divorces.
• In 1996, Parliament amended the recommended year-long pause for reflection to 18 months for couples with children or where one party is being divorced against their will.
• The current law sets down five facts that must be established before a divorce is granted.
• New clause 3 would allow for no-fault divorce after one year of separation, similar to Scottish law.
• Baroness Deech stated that the essence of reform is speed.
• Sir Edward Leigh's parents had marriage problems during WWII but chose to stay together.
• A poll showed 72% believe no-fault divorce may make people more blasé about divorce.
• The Scottish approach allows only 5% of divorces to be based on fault.
• Edward Leigh's amendments aim to shorten separation periods to one year with consent and two years without.
• A public consultation showed that 80% disagreed with the proposed changes.
• The organisations cited include Early Intervention Foundation, Tavistock Relationships, and Local Government Association.
• The MP has been married for 22 years.
• The state's involvement is limited to issuing a marriage certificate.
• The Bill aims to allow blameless divorces without contest.
• Current laws can be costly and prolong suffering for those seeking divorce.
• Amendments 1, 2, and 4 are opposed by the MP as they may hinder individuals from escaping abusive relationships or obtaining a quick divorce.
• The Bill is seen as an imperfect solution to issues inherent in human relationships.
• Most respondents to the Government's consultation did not want the changes proposed in the bill.
• Three-quarters of respondents disagreed with the Government plans.
• The Law Society suggests 9 months for reflection, while previous suggestions were 12 months.
• Centre for Social Justice evidence shows children do worse in broken families educationally.
• Resolution represents 6,500 family justice professionals supporting the Bill.
• 'Finding Fault?' study found that 43% of respondents disagreed with fault-based reasons cited in divorce petitions.
• Currently, there is no minimum period for securing a divorce using the online service; the average time up to the conditional order is 17 weeks.
• The Government proposes a minimum period of 20 weeks before a conditional order and six months in total.
• Around 80% of divorces are expected to take longer due to these measures.
• A marriage still endures after the initial application, requiring three active steps for dissolution.
• The Nuffield study in 2017 noted that only one of 300 cases ended in attempted reconciliation after the legal process began.
• The MP considers a total minimum period of six months for divorce proceedings, acknowledging the impact on victims of domestic abuse and those facing financial hardship.
• Amendment 2 addresses joint applications while Amendment 3 seeks to prevent either party from making financial applications during the 20-week period unless agreed upon.
• The Bill introduces a new 20-week minimum period between the start of proceedings and the conditional order.
• The Government will review financial provision law which has remained unchanged for nearly 50 years.
• Two delegated powers in the Bill will be subject to the affirmative mechanism via enhanced scrutiny procedure.
• £2.5 million is allocated to fund research into integrating family services, including the emerging family hub model.
• The indicative timetable for implementation of reforms is autumn 2021.
• The statement addresses the Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Bill [Lords].
• Early legal advice was removed from some areas due to funding cuts.
• Legal aid for early advice in matrimonial matters is recommended to be reinstated.
• Divorce costs £50 billion per year in the UK.
• Only £10 million is spent annually on reconciliation efforts.
• The bill allows for divorces to be completed within six months without providing reasons.