Relationships Foundation welcomes new Childhood and Families Task Force
17-Jun-2010
The Relationships Foundation welcomes the announcement of a new Childhood and Families Task Force composed of senior ministers, chaired by the Prime Minister, to take action to remove some of the biggest hurdles that millions of families face every day. RF has repeatedly said there needs to be ‘top-level leadership on the family and family policy should have a central role in government’.(1) We have also recently written to senior ministers highlighting the need for a joined up approach to families.(2) So we are pleased the government has responded by setting up this Task Force.
In his first speech as Prime Minister, David Cameron spoke encouragingly about his desire to “build a society with stronger families and stronger communities”. Becoming more family friendly is the right goal – families affect everyone and they affect every part of life. However, changing Britain from “one of the least family-friendly countries in the world” is not an easy task.(3)
Earlier this month, RF Executive Director Michael Trend called for families to be put at the heart of government.(4) Today, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said of the new Task Force, “it should some as no surprise that this agenda is being driven from the heart of government.”(5)
Executive Director Michael trend commented, “We welcome the new Task Force and look forward to working with it. It should set the architecture for the long-term approach of the coalition government to families and avoid becoming a short-lived initiative. We hope it will be able to look at the penumbra of issues where the strength and effectiveness of family relationships both influence and are influenced by a wide range of policy areas. These include education, health and social care, housing, employment, criminal justice, finance and debt, and tax and welfare payments. These areas cannot be dealt within isolation, without considering the impact on families.” (6)
Michael Trend continued, “The issue is not whether policy should seek to influence family relationships, but whether that inevitable influence is intentional and to what end. Family proofing all policies – ensuring that they support rather than undermine family relationships – is an essential element of progressive politics. We hope the new Task Force will consider this important idea.”
“We are pleased to see that the Task Force will develop its proposals in the context of the comprehensive spending review. This confirms the vital link between social and economic policy. To this end we are also putting forward the idea that there should be a social budget each year to match the Government’s economic budget. It would set out the government’s plan to strengthen family relationships and support society. It would outline the current social state of the nation providing independent assessment and analyses of the impact of policy on families. Fixing the economy and fixing society are inseparable.”
ENDS
For more information please contact: Peter Lynas –
p.lynas@relationshipsfoundation.org 01223 341286 07899 898066
NOTES TO EDITORS:
1. “How can we move towards being the most family-friendly country in Europe?” http://tiny.cc/FamFriend
2. “How to join up family policy?” http://tiny.cc/JoinFP
3. The Conservative Manfiesto, 2010, p 41
4. “How to move from rhetoric to reality and become the most family-friendly country in Europe?” http://tiny.cc/Rhet2Real
5. http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/newsroom/news_releases/2010/100617-children.aspx
6. The Penumbra, Relationships Foundation, 2008. Available at http://tiny.cc/Penumbra
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