A briefing paper charted significant developments in parenting policy over the period 1997-2008.
Source: Parenting Policy: The Last 10 Years, Family and Parenting Institute (020 7424 3460)
Links: Briefing
Date: 2008-Dec
A government report examined trends in the modern family. It said that families were the 'bedrock' of society: but they were complex and dynamic, and there was no such thing as a typical family. Family policy should therefore not exclude families based on form or structure. Family policy should be 'empowering'; intervention should be proportionate; and universal support should be complemented by targeted support for those in genuine need, to help secure equal opportunities.
Source: Families in Britain: An evidence paper, Strategy Unit/Cabinet Office (020 7276 1881)
Links: Report | Guardian report | Telegraph report
Date: 2008-Dec
The Department for Children, Schools and Families published its 2008 autumn performance report, showing progress against public service agreement targets.
Source: Autumn Performance Report 2008, Cm 7507, Department for Children, Schools and Families, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report
Date: 2008-Dec
The government published a progress report on implementation of its 'Children's Plan' after one year. It said that there were still too many young people not fulfilling their potential, too many schools where standards were not high enough, and more action needed to protect every child from abuse, harm, and neglect. It announced a new £200 million 'co-location fund' to bring health, education, and children's services together. It also said that an additional £38 million had been allocated to improving outcomes for children with special educational needs.
Source: The Children's Plan One Year On: A progress report, Department for Children, Schools and Families (0845 602 2260)
Links: Report | Summary | DCSF press release (1) | DCSF press release (2) | Unicef UK press release | SkillsActive press release | Voice press release | NDCS press release | NASUWT press release (1) | NASUWT press release (2) | Community Care report | BBC report
Date: 2008-Dec
A think-tank report called for a radical overhaul of family law, aimed at strengthening marriage and reducing family breakdown. It suggested making pre-nuptial agreements legally binding; official backing for marriage preparation classes; reviewing divorce procedures; and changes aimed at creating greater consistency in financial settlements on divorce. It said that giving cohabiting couples legal rights similar to those of married couples would fuel family breakdown.
Source: The Family Law Review: An interim report, Centre for Social Justice (020 7620 1120)
Links: Report | Summary | CSJ press release | BBC report
Date: 2008-Nov
Researchers examined the definition, usage, and function of the word 'well-being' in public policy relating to children. They distinguished between well-being as a broad government ambition (making the lives of children better) and as an 'operationalized definition' (specific things the government set out to do that it believed would contribute to its ambition, and which it would define and measure).
Source: Gill Ereaut and Rebecca Whiting, What Do We Mean By 'Wellbeing'? And Why Might It Matter?, Research Report RW073, Department for Children, Schools and Families (0845 602 2260)
Links: Report
Date: 2008-Oct
A report called for a new approach to improve connexions and build mutual understanding between the generations. Families were more dispersed than ever before, and lived in more linear generational divisions. The increasing distance between young and older people risked creating a new wave of social problems unless urgent action were taken to reduce intergenerational prejudice and discrimination.
Source: For All Ages: Bringing different generations closer together, 4Children (020 7512 2100) and Counsel and Care
Links: Report | 4Children press release | Community Care report
Date: 2008-Sep
A report said that in the previous 21 years there had been 400 significant policy changes affecting children, and 50 new funding streams – of which only one-third still existed. Successive governments had failed to hold their nerve – ignoring evidence of what worked, and reacting to headlines, moral panics, and short-term political pressures.
Source: Daniel Clay and Anna Ludvigsen with Ruth Winchester and Roisin Woolnough, As Long As It Takes: A new politics for children, Action for Children (formerly NCH) (020 7704 7000)
Links: Report | Action for Children press release | BBC report | Community Care report
Date: 2008-Sep
The opposition Conservative Party published a plan for social reform. The education system would be 'freed up', to allow charities and other not-for-profit organizations to set up new schools in the state sector; and more resources would be diverted to pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds, ensuring they got the earliest possible opportunity to choose the best schools and the best teaching. Families would be strengthened through reforms to the tax and benefits systems to support marriage. People would be unable to claim unemployment benefits if they turned down 'reasonable' job offers.
Source: Plan for Social Reform, Conservative Party (020 7222 9000)
Links: Report | Conservative Party press release | Speech | BBC report (1) | BBC report (2) | Guardian report
Date: 2008-Sep
A report said that women were 'lulled' into believing that having children would have little effect on their lives, compared to those of their own mothers: becoming a mother carried an enormous penalty, and women on the lowest incomes paid the highest price.
Source: Sally Gimson, Listening to Mother: Making Britain mother-friendly, Family and Parenting Institute (020 7424 3460)
Links: Report | FPI press release | Guardian report
Date: 2008-Jul
A new book examined the factors which helped or hindered the state to 'invest' in children. It considered the ideologies, social constructions, and moral precepts which obstructed or encouraged measures to improve the lives and prospects of children; and the difficulties in practice of implementing policies aimed at investing in children's lives and futures.
Source: Christine Piper, Investing in Children: Policy, law and practice in context, Willan Publishing (01884 840337)
Links: Summary
Date: 2008-Jul
A 'capability review' of the Department for Department for Children, Schools and Families said that the DCSF Board had used the review process constructively, and made 'significant progress against a background of enormous change' since an initial review in 2006. The Department needed to clarify how it would develop over the following 5-10 years, and to understand its future skills needs.
Source: Department for Children, Schools and Families: Progress and Next Steps, Cabinet Office (020 7261 8527)
Links: Report | Cabinet Office press release | DCSF press release | Community Care report
Date: 2008-Jul
The government responded to a report by a committee of MPs on its 'Children's Plan'. Although successful delivery of the Plan demanded effective joint working by the Department for Children, Schools and Families with partners and other government departments, this should not be confused with a lack of clarity over responsibility. Cross-departmental structures were in place to drive the action required to meet the government's targets.
Source: The Department for Children, Schools and Families and the Children's Plan: Government response to the Committee's Second Report, Fourth Special Report (Session 2007-08), HC 888, House of Commons Children, Schools and Families Select Committee, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Response | MPs report
Date: 2008-Jul
The Welsh Assembly Government began consultation on an intergenerational strategy, involving mechanisms to promote positive contact between the young and old.
Source: Building a Society for All Ages, Welsh Assembly Government (029 2082 5111)
Links: Consultation document
Date: 2008-Jun
The government published a White Paper containing proposals to require unmarried parents (in most circumstances) to record the name of the father, as well as that of the mother, on a birth certificate.
Source: Joint Birth Registration: Recording responsibility, Cm 7293, Department for Work and Pensions, TSO (0870 600 5522) and Department for Children, Schools and Families
Links: White Paper | Hansard | DH press release | Telegraph report
Date: 2008-Jun
The Department for Children, Schools and Families published its annual report for 2007-08.
Source: Departmental Report 2008, Cm 7391, Department for Children, Schools and Families, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report
Date: 2008-May
A report by a committee of MPs said that the government's 'children's plan' was in danger of becoming merely a 'wish list' of ambitions, unless it was given clear priorities and a timetable for action.
Source: The Department for Children, Schools and Families and the Children's Plan, Second Report (Session 2007-08), HC 213, House of Commons Children, Schools and Families Select Committee, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report | Community Care report
Date: 2008-Apr
An article examined the 'classed' assumptions underpinning contemporary family policy. Although the government had pledged to support all parents, policy initiatives pointed to a class-specific focus on disadvantaged or 'socially excluded' families. Poor parents were viewed as reproducing a cycle of deprivation and anti-social behaviour, and were therefore targeted for behaviour modification. The article challenged the notion that social inclusion could be promoted at the level of the family.
Source: Val Gillies, 'Perspectives on parenting responsibility: contextualizing values and practices', Journal of Law and Society, Volume 35 Number 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2008-Mar
An article examined the governance of families in the context of a political philosophy that endorsed a rights perspective in social policy and the need to promote transparent government. It assessed existing parental rights and responsibilities in relation to financial support, and the physical and emotional care and control of children. There was a need for a regular policy review and for a national debate as to whether there should an official statement of parents' rights and responsibilities.
Source: Clem Henricson, 'Governing parenting: is there a case for a policy review and statement of parenting rights and responsibilities?', Journal of Law and Society, Volume 35 Number 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2008-Mar
An article provided a critical analysis of the assumptions that underpinned the 'Every Child Matters' programme in England. The relationships between parents, children, professionals, and the state, and their respective responsibilities, were being reconfigured – with the result that the priority given to the accumulation, monitoring, and exchange of electronic information had taken on a central significance. We were witnessing the emergence of the 'preventive-surveillance' state, where the role of the state was becoming broader and more interventionist.
Source: Nigel Parton, 'The "Change for Children" programme in England: towards the "preventive-surveillance state"', Journal of Law and Society, Volume 35 Number 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2008-Mar
An article said that, although the policy of the opposition Conservative Party towards marriage and families was 'fundamentally flawed', a convincing 'narrative' on the institution of marriage was yet to emerge from centre-left political groups.
Source: Kate Stanley and Graeme Cooke, 'Something old, something new ', Public Policy Research, Volume 14 Issue 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2008-Feb
A report said that couples with a stay-at-home parent, two children, and average annual earnings of £30,800, paid 40 per cent more tax in the United Kingdom than in other major industrialized nations.
Source: Don Draper and Leonard Beighton, Taxation of Married Families: How the UK compares internationally, Christian Action, Research and Education (020 7233 0455)
Links: Report | CARE press release | Telegraph report
Date: 2008-Jan