Married parents 'in the minority by 2031'

Married parents could be outnumbered by single mothers and cohabiting couples within a generation, with serious implications for the health and education of children, official figures show.

A report on family life by the Office for National Statistics suggests that Britain is only 24 years away from married couples being in the minority.

The report, said the number of couples who live together has increased 65 per cent to 2.3 million in the past 10 years, while married couple families fell by four per cent to 12.1 million. The number of single mothers rose by eight per cent, to 2.6 million, over the decade.

The study, which includes forecasts from Government actuaries, predicted a 250 per cent increase by 2031 among people aged 45-64 who cohabit.

This means that, with people delaying marriage into their 30s and 40s, or choosing to cohabit or live alone, most children could be raised by single parents or couples who have never walked up the aisle – a sharp contrast to now, where seven in 10 of Britain's 17 million families are married