I wish to make the following statement to the House announcing the Government’s response to the Law Commission’s report “Cohabitation: the financial consequences of relationship breakdown”.

The Law Commission published its report on 31 July 2007 but no action was taken by the previous Administration who wished to first seek research findings on the Family Law (Scotland) Act 2006. This Government have now carefully considered the recommendations of this thorough report, together with the outcomes of research on the 2006 Act.

The findings of the research into the Scottish legislation do not provide us with a sufficient basis for a change in the law. Furthermore, the family justice system is in a transitional period, with major reforms already on the horizon. We do not therefore intend to take forward the Law Commission’s recommendations for reform of cohabitation law in this parliamentary term.