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CARE reports rise in ‘couple penalty’
by Ed Beavan
THE Government’s fiscal policy undermines marriage and leaves couples who live together worse off than those who live apart, the Christian charity CARE says. Its study suggests that the “couple penalty” for families on low or modest incomes rose in the past year: those living apart were better off by £69 a week. In 75 of the 98 family cases considered in CARE’s second annual review of the issue, couples were better off even when two sets of housing costs were taken into account. The average annual cost to the Treasury in tax credits and benefits was estimated at £7732 per couple. Dan Boucher, director of parliamentary affairs for CARE, said that this was an incentive to single people with children not to live together or get married. “When we first highlighted the ‘couple penalty’ some years ago, people were sceptical about it, but this second annual review demonstrates it’s still a problem, and getting worse. It clearly undermines marriage in the sense that marriage involves a man and woman living together in the same dwelling. “The current fiscal system is informing family formation, as people will choose to have children and not live together. It’s a perverse system. We are calling for the Government to get this sorted and remove these barriers. We believe it’s in the best interests of children to be brought up by both parents in the same house.” “Failed experiment”.The Bishop of Lichfield, the Rt Revd Jonathan Gledhill, has criticised “the great British experiment to downplay marriage and the family”, which, he said, had failed. In a pastoral letter for every March parish magazine in the diocese, he wrote: “Children deserve the chance to be brought up by a man and a woman who promise to love each other always.” He called for civil partnerships not to be described as gay marriage, since marriage was entered into by a man with a woman. New marriage course. The C of E has launched Growing Together (Church House Publishing, £19.99; 978-0-7151-4135-9), a new marriage-preparation course over one day or seven evenings, put together by the Revd Andrew Body, Vicar of Chobham in Surrey. To help couples reflect, they are asked to draw up a “league table” of life priorities. |
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