The Relationships Foundation has called upon the Government to invest £10 million in voluntary organisations that provide relationship education for couples.

Speaking at the start of Marriage Week this week, the foundation said too many people were “sliding” into relationships and transitioning from sexual involvement, to pregnancy and cohabitation, without “deciding upon” such changes.

The foundation warned that “sliding” resulted in “relationship inertia” and couples remaining in “unfulfilling or even unsafe relationships”.

It said relationships education could teach people to slow down and make “active and self-conscious” decisions about transitions in their relationships before the opportunity to choose was lost.

The foundation said many people were “ill-prepared” for relationships despite it being one of the most important life decisions, with only one quarter of engaged couples receiving marriage preparation before marrying.

It said that very little was being done to prevent couples from reaching the point of needing counselling and that relationships education could help more couples stay together.

Researcher Peter Lynas said a relationships course would allow people to discuss their expectations, whether or not they wanted to have children, how to handle arguments, and to talk about money.

“It’s basic common sense. Most people go to pre-natal classes before they have a baby because it is a new experience for them. It should be the same for couple relationships. So many people don’t have a model of a stable couple relationship,” he said.

“Relationships Foundation would like to see more government investment in third sector organisations so that CRE is made more widely available. The government picks up the tab when things go wrong – a bill of over £40billion each year. It seems wiser to invest a little in preventing problems arising.”