HC Deb 03 February 1975 vol 885 cc439-40W
Mr. Robin F. Cook

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what estimate is available to him of the proportion of divorced persons who subsequently remarry.

Mr. William Ross

The numbers of divorced males and females remarrying in the year 1973—who may, of course, have been divorced in that year or any earlier year—were 3,383 and 3,504 respectively. The number of divorces in 1972 was 5,503. The proportion of divorced persons remarrying in 1973, as percentages of persons divorced in 1972, were, therefore, 61.2 for males and 63.4 for females.

Mr. Robin F. Cook

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish in the Official Report a table showing the the number of petitions for divorce filed in Scotland in each of the last 10 years, giving a breakdown of the number of cases which are defended and undefended.

Mr. William Ross

The information is not available exactly in the form requested. The following figures relate to the number of actions in which final judgment was given.

Year Total number of actions Number of defended actions Number of undefended actions
1964 2,510 64 2,446
1965 2,770 73 2,697
1966 3,696 169 3,527
1967 3,101 183 2,918
1968 4,953 353 4,600
1969 4,421 242 4,179
1970 4,809 259 4,550
1971 5,041 246 4,795
1972 5,796 305 5,491
1973 7,475 264 7,211

Mr. Robin F. Cook

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish in the Official Report a table showing the number of petitions for divorce filed in Scotland in each of the last 10 years, giving a breakdown by sex of the pursuers and the rate per 1,000 married couples which the figures represent.

Mr. William Ross

The information is not available exactly in the form requested. The following figures relate to the number of actions in which final judgment was given:

Year Total number of actions Number in which husband was pursuer Number in which wife was pursuer Number of actions per 1,000 married couples
1964 2,510 1,011 1,499 2.0
1965 2,770 1,031 1,739 2.2
1966 3,696 1,269 2,427 3.0
1967 3,101 1,047 2,054 2.5
1968 4,953 1,518 3,435 4.0
1969 4,421 1,323 3,098 3.6
1970 4,809 1,327 3,482 3.9
1971 5,041 1,388 3,563 4.0
1972 5,796 1,614 4,182 4.7
1973 7,475 2,015 5,460 5.9

Mr. Robin F. Cook

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish in the Official Report a table showing the number of divorce decrees granted in Scotland in each of the last 10 years, and the rate per 1,000 married couples which the figures represent.

Mr. William Ross

The figures are given in the table below:

Divorces, numbers and rates per 1,000 married couples, Scotland, 1964–1973:

Year Number of divorces Rate per 1,000 married couples
1964 2,423 2.0
1965 2,663 2.2
1966 3,549 2.9
1967 3,015 2.5
1968 4,758 3.9
1969 4,217 3.5
1970 4,591 3.8
1971 4,786 3.9
1972 5,503 4.4
1973 7,098 5.7

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