Weddings should be subsidised by the government for low-income couples to ... trends now
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The Government should subsidise weddings for low-income couples in a bid to tackle loneliness, a report has concluded.
Couples living in relative or absolute low income should receive discounts on administrative, legal and booking fees for their first marriage, the Centre for Social Justice recommended.
The subsidies would total up to £550 per couple, along with a requirement to take part in a pre-nuptial preparation course.
And it could cover costs such as the basic ceremony, room bookings, notice of marriage, certificates, administrative work and postage fees.
According to the CSJ the policy, which would cost around £35million a year, would help slash the estimated £2.5billion annual cost of loneliness to employers.
The Centre for Social Justice has said that weddings should be subsidised for low-income couples in a bid to tackle loneliness
The researchers pointed to recent polling that showed married people were found to be less likely to feel lonely as single people.
Of 2,066 UK adults polled, Whitestone Insight found that married people reported feeling lonely 30 per cent of the time.
This was nearly half as frequently as single people who reported feeling lonely 58 per cent of the time.
Married couples were also less lonely than those co-habiting, who experienced loneliness 39 per cent of the time.
But the researchers also found 50 per cent of the country believes the financial cost of weddings is too high and puts them off marriage.
The average cost of a wedding in 2024 has been