§ Mr. Bishopasked the Attorney-General how many defended divorce petitions in England and Wales were successful in the last three years in each of the categories, desertion, cruelty, adultery, & c.; and if he will give the percentages of the whole.
The Attorney-General: The table below sets out the number of decrees granted in defended divorce causes in the years 1970, 1971 and 1972.
NUMBER OF DECREES GRANTED IN DEFENDED DIVORCE ACTIONS IN 1970, 1971 AND 1972, SHOWING THE GROUNDS AND THE PERCENTAGE OF THE WHOLE Grounds 1970 Percentage of the whole 1971 Percentage of the whole 1972 Percentage of the whole Adultery 1,327 47.8 1,028 37.2 760 31.2 Cruelty/Unreasonable Behaviour 932 33.6 772 28.0 871 35.7 Desertion 415 150 361 13.1 136 5.6 Adultery and Cruelty/Unreasonable Behaviour 31 11 34 1.2 14 0.6 Adultery and Desertion 34 1.2 16 0.6 14 0.6 Desertion and Cruelty/Unreasonable Behaviour 33 1.2 12 0.4 8 0.3 Adultery, Desertion and Cruelty/Unreasonable Behaviour 4 0.1 2 0.1 — — Separation—2 years and consent N/A N/A 421 15.2 441 18.1 Separation—5 years N/A N/A 115 4.2 193 7.9 Totals 2,776 100.0 2,761 100.0 2,437 100.0