Subsidising weddings could help first-time buyers secure their first property
The Centre for Social Justice has called on the Government to discount the administrative, legal and booking fees of weddings for first-time married couples – saving on average £550 per couple.
Plans to subsidise weddings to tackle loneliness could also be a boost for married first-time buyers looking to get their first foot on the property ladder.
The Centre for Social Justice has called on the government to discount the administrative, legal and booking fees of weddings for first-time married couples in relative or absolute low income.
SIZEABLE CONTRIBUTION
The move could save those getting married on average £550 – one month’s rent for many people and a sizeable contribution to a deposit.
Its report, ‘Lonely Nation’, says those taking up the offer would be required to take part in pre-nuptial sessions and as well as providing relationship support would also help combat rising loneliness and reduced rates of marriage.
The annual cost would be some £35 million a year, a fraction of the estimated £2.5 billion price of loneliness to employers alone.”
Taken together, the annual cost would be some £35 million a year, a fraction of the estimated £2.5 billion price of loneliness to employers alone.
The proposal comes as new polling conducted by Whitestone Insight reveals that half the country (50%) believes that the financial cost of weddings is too high and puts them off marriage, even after finding the right person.
Married people are less than half as likely to be lonely than singles and nine percentage points less lonely than cohabiting couples.
CONVINCING CASE
Jon Cruddas MP, writing the foreword for the report, says: “The CSJ make a convincing case that family must be put at the heart of a refreshed strategy for tackling loneliness.”
Josh Nicholson, Senior Researcher at the CSJ, adds: “Helping more people to get married by subsidising the bill for the those on the lowest incomes offers significant health, social and economic benefits for them and the taxpayer.
“Loneliness is a rapidly growing problem – a contributor to the mental health crisis – with more than 30 million people in the UK feeling lonely at least some of the time.”
Martin Stewart, Director of London Money, says: “They need to be paying people not to get married – I think I’d rather be lonely!
“That said, there is a global falling birth rate crisis. Anything that helps create families that can boost population growth might be deemed a very good idea in the long run and the cost saving could help some first-time buyers.”
