This House of Lords Library Briefing has been prepared in advance of the second reading of the Cohabitation Rights Bill [HL] in the House of Lords on 15 March 2019.
Cohabitation Rights Bill [HL]: Briefing for Lords Stages (173 KB , PDF)
The Cohabitation Rights Bill [HL] is a private member’s bill introduced by Lord Marks of Henley-on-Thames (Liberal Democrat). The bill had its first reading in the House of Lords on 5 July 2017 and is due to receive its second reading on 15 March 2019. The bill proposes to establish a framework of rights for cohabiting couples following the breakdown of the relationship or the death of one of the cohabitants.
The bill’s provisions would apply only to those cohabiting couples who either had a dependent child or who had been living together as a couple for a minimum of three years. The bill would provide the right for either cohabitant, upon the breakdown of the relationship, to apply to a court for a financial settlement order to redress a financial benefit or an economic disadvantage resulting from the period of cohabitation. The bill would provide the right for cohabitants to opt-out of the financial settlement provisions, if they both agreed. In addition, the bill would provide cohabitants with the right to succeed to their partner’s estate under the intestacy rules and the right to have an insurable interest in the life of their partner, similar to the rights of married and civil partnered couples.
Cohabitation Rights Bill [HL]: Briefing for Lords Stages (173 KB , PDF)
The House of Lords is due to discuss NHS staff access to single-sex spaces on 1 May 2025. Following a recent Supreme Court judgment about the meaning of the term ‘sex’ in the Equality Act 2010, the Equality and Human Rights Commission issued an interim update on 25 April 2025 about the implications of this for workplaces and services provided to the public.
The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill is scheduled for second reading in the House of Lords on 1 May 2025. The bill would make a number of changes to children’s social care and schools.
At present, prenuptial agreements are not automatically enforceable by courts in England and Wales. However, a landmark ruling by the Supreme Court in 2010 stated that courts should consider such agreements if entered into freely and with full understanding, unless doing so would be unfair. This has prompted calls for reforming marriage laws, including a Law Commission proposal to introduce a new form of marital property agreement.
