Ending the Couple Penalty

There are several meeting with residents on the doorstep while out canvassing which stick in my mind. One occured during the County Council by-election 18 months ago when I met a young couple with children. They told me that there had been difficulties in their relationship that caused them to live apart, but that they had recently got back together again, partly for the benefit of their kids. They told me that they were shocked to find out that they were better off financially living separately. So I was interested to learn yesterday about a new report from the charity CARE reviewing the couple penalty, showing that the numbers of people affected by this is growing. This is a matter we must address urgently in Government. Quite apart from the long term savings from reducing the number of households by encouraging couples to stay together, there is so much evidence that children benefit substantially from being brought up in a household where both parents play an active role in bringing them up.