Do you think children benefit from growing up with parents who are happily married?

Marriage rates in the UK are currently at an all time low, so the government has responded by setting out proposals that aim to encourage couples to stay together and provide steady homes for their children.

The Green Paper recommends more preparation for those considering matrimony, greater help for couples experiencing difficulties and better parenting education in schools.

Initiatives include a change in the law to provide pre-marriage classes in registry offices, more community support for families and the possibility of a 24-hour advice helpline for parents.

Do you think government strategies to strengthen marriages in the UK can really make a difference to society? Is the traditional institution the answer to a healthy and happy upbringing for a child?

The Labour government is treading a careful line. It is strongly supporting the values of marriage, but avoids a highly moral tone like former prime minister John Major's failed Back to Basics campaign of the early 90s.

There is no criticism of lone parent families or couples who live together; the emphasis of the proposals is on the children.

Ed Straw, from the marriage guidance organisation Relate welcomes the proposals, but warns that the government must handle the issue with sensitivity.

"It's terribly important the government doesn't tell people how to run their lives and prescribe how to do parenting.

"The government's job is to set up a learning infrastructure," he said.

What do you think?

Strong marriage, strong society?

Your reaction in full

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