Figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on 17 November show that divorce rates have increased and we expect this to continue for a few years to come.
According to the ONS, the latest figures show that divorces have risen to the highest number since 2014, when 111,169 divorces were granted in England and Wales.
The latest divorce rates represent the largest annual percentage increase since 1972. This follows the Divorce Reform Act 1969, which made it easier for couples to divorce upon separation, as well as the introduction of same-sex marriages in March 2014.
The ONS reports that divorces of heterosexual couples rose from 90,871 in 2018 to 107,599 last year (an 18.4% rise), while same-sex divorces almost doubled from 428 in 2018 to 822 in 2019. The ONS noted that this is likely a result of the population increase of same-sex couples getting married, which has subsequently led to the rise in same-sex separations.
The size of the increase in divorce rates overall has also been partly attributed to a backlog of divorce petitions from 2017 that were processed by the Ministry of Justice in early 2018, some of which will have translated into decree absolutes (completed divorce) in 2019.
The ONS stated: “This is likely to have contributed to both the particularly low number of divorces in 2018 (the lowest since 1971) and the increase seen in 2019.”
With the Courts experiencing a huge backlog in cases this year due to Coronavirus and lockdown measures, the statistics are likely to be affected again.
Andy Barton, partner in our family team, says: “I am afraid this upward trend in divorce rates will only continue over the next couple of years at least, as we see the effects of the Coronavirus pandemic set in, which has put immense strain on relationships. In addition, the new proposed legislation next year to enable no fault divorce, although a positive step that will hopefully take much of the acrimony out of proceedings, will also have an effect on divorce rates.”