The latest figures for marriages in England
and Wales published in the Spring revealed
that the number of men and women getting
married has fallen to a new low.
In 2017, there was a total of 235,910
marriages between opposite-sex couples – a
decrease of 2.8% from 2016, and of 45% in
the past 45 years. Only 22% of marriages
were religious in 2017, the lowest percentage
on
record.
In addition, around 81% of
couples
that had
a
religious
ceremony
cohabited before they got married.
Costly donations
The Salvation Army
People fly-tipping outside closed charity
shops and clothing banks are costing The
Salvation Army thousands of pounds which
would otherwise be spent on services for
homeless and other vulnerable people, it
was reported in April.
For every carrier bag of dumped clothing
which ends up being taken to landfill from
the recycling sites, the church and charity
will
lose £7. An emergency response has
been mobilised to clear the clothes and other items.
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