The Telegraph 29 January 2014
Encouraging couples to go to marriage courses or relationship counselling sessions could ultimately save taxpayers billions of pounds a year by reducing family break-up, a Government backed study concludes.
The report, the first of its kind, calculates that some successful relationship initiatives could pay for themselves more than 11 times over when the social cost of separation is taken into account.
It follows estimates that broken relationships cost Britain between £20 billion and £44 billion a year in extra benefits for single parents, housing costs or spending on health and the criminal justice system linked to family break-up.
A team led by experts at the Tavistock Institute, the research group, analysed the success rates of three types of marriage and relationship education courses run by the charities including Relate, Marriage Care and Care For the Family.
They included a traditional marriage preparation programme, shorter “relationship education” sessions for established couples and professional counselling for those facing difficulties. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/sex/divorce/10602534/Marriage-guidance-could-save-Britain-billions-by-staving-off-family-break-up.html
