asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the consultative document prepared by the working party on marriage guidance will be published; and if he will make a statement.

An independent working party on marriage guidance was established in 1975 by the Home Office, in consultation with the Department of Health and Social Security, to study the provision of helping services to those with marital problems and produce a consultative document containing suggestions for any improvements. This document entitled "Marriage Matters" has been published today and copies are available in the Library of the House.The Government hope that the document will be widely discussed by practitioners and other interested agencies, and the Home Office and the Department of Health and Social Security are issuing a joint memorandum of consultation. This must not be taken as implying any commitment by the Government to the proposals in the document which must be considered alongside other claims on resources and within a climate of restraint on public expenditure.