Lesbian and gay couples want to be "civil partners"

The vast majority of lesbian and gay couples would like the chance to register their relationship, according to a survey that included members of public services' union UNISON.

The Cabinet Office, as part of its work on the registration of civil partnerships, sent 3,000 questionnaires to members of UNISON, the Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement and campaign group Stonewall. It found that 98% of respondents supported the idea of registering gay and lesbian partnerships. Of the 65% of respondents in cohabiting relationships, 83% said they would register their current relationship.

The survey results were revealed by Cabinet Office minister Barbara Roche at last month's TUC lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender conference. She said that the survey "shows how seriously we are taking the work on civil partnerships. It has given us information about same sex relationships that will help us understand better the implications of civil partnership for government."

Commenting on the survey findings Roche said: "Very often assumptions are made about the instability of gay and lesbian relationships. Those assumptions are not borne out by this survey, which found that the average length of cohabitations was 10 years."