England rugby star Courtney Lawes urges parents to get married to create a ‘stable family’ – as report reveals unmarried couples are four times more likely to split and 70% of young offenders come from broken homes
- Courtney Lawes, 31, is calling on Government to incentivise marriage
- He revealed his half-brother ended up in jail due to an unstable upbringing
- Centre for Social Justice report said marriage breakdowns cost £51billion a year
An England rugby star has urged parents to get married to create a ‘stable family’ as a report reveals 70% of young offenders come from broken homes.
Courtney Lawes called on the Government to incentivise marriage as reports show unmarried couples are four times more likely to split.
The 31-year-old, who plays second row for Northampton, said: ‘A stable family means one where parents are married.’
Courtney Lawes, 31, pictured on his wedding day with wife Jessica, called on the Government to incentivise marriage as reports show unmarried couples are four times more likely to split
He revealed how his half-brother didn’t enjoy a stable upbringing like he did, and ended up in jail, according to The Sunday Telegraph.
Lawes was brought up by parents Linford and Valerie, but questions if his sibling’s life could have been different if he had ‘grown up in a more stable home’.
A report by the Centre for Social Justice think tank warned that family instability is one of the leading causes for negative outcomes for children.
Family Structure Still Matters, written by Cristina Odone for the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ), found cohabiting couples are four times more likely to split up.
It is also reported that 70 per cent of young offenders come from families where parents have separated.
The CSJ report revealed a teenager growing up in the poorest 20 per cent of households is two-thirds more likely to experience family breakdown than a teenager in the top 20 per cent.
The England rugby star revealed how his half-brother didn’t enjoy a stable upbringing like he did, and ended up in jail
Ms Odone, head of the CSJ family policy unit, said: ‘Marriage has become a middle class secret.’
She claimed the marriage ‘gap’ had become a ‘social justice issue’.
The report has accused the Government of ‘blurring the lines’ between marriage and cohabitation as it is revealed data collection does not distinguish between the two.
Addressing the problem could reduce the £51billion per year cost of family breakdown on the NHS, the criminal justice system and the Treasury.
Lawes was brought up by parents Linford and Valerie, but questions if his sibling’s life could have been different if he had ‘grown up in a more stable home’