'Tentative' official estimates suggested that up to 2 million men and 2 million women in Great Britain aged under 60 had a regular partner who was living in another household.
Source: John Haskey, 'Living arrangements in contemporary Britain: having a partner who usually lives elsewhere and Living Apart Together (LAT)', Population Trends 122, Winter 2005, Office for National Statistics, Palgrave Macmillan (01256 329242)
Links: Article | ONS press release | Guardian report
Date: 2005-Dec
The Treasury was reported to have estimated that 6 per cent of the population, or about 3.6 million people, were either gay or lesbian.
Source: The Observer, 11 December 2005
Links: Observer report
Date: 2005-Dec
A think-tank report said that 97 per cent of those aged 25-34 believed that it was important to live alone before settling down. This belief was felt particularly strongly by young, middle-class women.
Source: Miranda Lewis, Unilever Family Report 2005 Home Alone?, Institute for Public Policy Research, available from Central Books (0845 458 9911)
Links: Report (pdf) | IPPR press release | Guardian report
Date: 2005-Oct
A report set out the results of questions on family matters in the Scottish Social Attitudes Survey 2004. This part of the survey canvassed public views and knowledge on a range of family-related issues including marriage, co-habitation and parenting.
Source: Fran Wasoff and Claudia Martin, Scottish Social Attitudes Survey 2004 Family Module Report, Scottish Executive, available from Blackwell's Bookshop (0131 622 8283)
Links: Report (pdf)
Date: 2005-Aug
A report looked at family types, and explored similarities and differences between them. The number of married couple families had declined: but they still made up 7 in 10 of all families,
Source: Focus on Families, Office for National Statistics (0845 601 3034)
Links: Report | Summary (pdf) | ONS press release (pdf)
Date: 2005-Jul
Two research reports explored the characteristics and circumstances of families and children in 2003, based on analysis of the Families and Children Study (FACS). Around 1 in 5 children lived in a household where no one worked. Around a quarter of children lived in a lone-parent family. Lone-parent families were nearly four times more likely than couple families to live in social housing or privately rented accommodation.
Source: Maxine Willitts, Tracy Anderson, Clare Tait and Grace Williams, Children in Britain: Findings from the 2003 families and children study (FACS), Research Report 249, CDS/Department for Work and Pensions (0113 399 4040) | Matt Barnes, Nick Lyon, Stephen Morris, Vicki Robinson and Yee Wan Yau, Family life in Britain: Findings from the 2003 families and children study (FACS), Research Report 250, CDS/Department for Work and Pensions
Links: Report 249 (pdf) | Summary 249 (pdf) | Report 250 (pdf) | Summary 250 (pdf) | DWP press release
Date: 2005-Jun
A research study found that more people were living alone than ever before, with more men than women living on their own between the ages of 25 and 44. The overall population had grown by 5 per cent over the previous 30 years, but the number of households with just one occupant was up by 31 per cent. Once someone had gone solo, they were more likely to remain living alone. There was also a growing overall tendency for people who lived alone to report permanent sickness.
Source: Malcolm Williams, Joan Chandler and Moira Maconachie, Baseline Study of Solo Living and Long-term Illness, Economic and Social Research Council (01793 413000)
Links: ESRC press release | Observer report
Date: 2005-Jan