Marriage, A.P. Herbert said, is holy deadlock. He would presumably have been saddened, therefore, to learn that more and more of those entering into it are persevering: figures published yesterday by the Office for National Statistics show that divorce is at its lowest rate for 22 years after falling by 7 per cent from 2005 to 2006. Professional curmudgeons may groan, but for the rest of us can cheer wholeheartedly. These figures follow an 8 per cent fall in divorces between 2004 and 2005, with couples in their forties and fifties splitting up at even lower rates than average. This is unquestionably good for their children, the often forgotten victims of divorce. And it is solid evidence that, contrary to claims from Unesco and certain sections of the Tory Party, British society is not broken –– and may even know how to heal itself.

It is easy, but not necessarily enlightening, to argue that these headline statistics are at best a blip and at worst a veil to cast over unhappiness. The total number of marriages per year in England and Wales is falling steadily, and indeed is at its lowest level since the 1860s. Those choosing to live together out of wedlock are five times more likely to split up than those who marry, and a proportion of those who do marry inevitably stay together more for reasons of convenience than mutual affection.

The very high rate of failure of nonmarital relationships is linked strongly to underachievement at school when those relationships involve children –– but when they do not, “failure” is entirely the wrong word. Far better to part before marriage than take it in hand “unadvisedly, lightly, or wantonly” –– or, as Charles puts it in Four Weddings and a Funeral, as “a way of getting out of an embarrassing pause in conversation”. Sure enough, couples are not only, on average, divorcing later (with men over 60 the only group showing an increased divorce rate); they are also marrying later. Whether this is out of the commitment phobia so beloved of romantic comedy writers, the need for most professional women to further their careers before having families, or both, the clear and welcome fact is that newlyweds are choosing each other more carefully than they were, and trying harder to stay married.

A relatively high proportion of young married couples are still regretting getting hitched. Men and women in their late twenties had the highest divorce rate of all age groups, as they have for the past five years. But the number of couples seeking help from Relate, the marriage guidance service, has nearly doubled in the same period, and researchers are confident of a link between falling divorce rates, especially among couples with children, and the erosion of the stigma that once attached to marriage therapy.

Brute deterrence doubtless has a role as well. High-profile protests by estranged fathers seeking access to their children have served as a reminder of the emotional cost of divorce. The £48 million awarded last year to Beverly Charman likewise underlined its escalating financial cost to the business elite. Yet it is not naive to suppose that a growth in personal responsibility is the main factor keeping couples together. Divorce is still both a cause and a symptom of acute distress, and 125,030 children were involved in divorces last year. They need support, but so do parents still trying to make marriage work.