Social policies and the family

Social policy

• Actual/proposed govt action/programme that impacts society by regulating family life and affecting family structures

  • Not necessarily enshrined in law

2 main aims of social policy

1. Material support

2. Physical support

Material support

• In the form of cash benefits

  • Working tax credits

  • Child tax credits

  • Statutory mat pay

Impact of child support benefit

• Goes directly to the mother

  • Helps if partner is financially controlling

• Is the biggest single thing that’s impacted child poverty

Physical support

• E.g. with balancing work and family

  • Mat and pat leave

  • Child protection policies

  • Early years childcare provision like SureStart

2 child protection and welfare policies

1. 1889 - Prevention of Cruelty to Children Act

2. 1989 - Children Act

4 homosexuality policies

1. 1967 - Sexual Offences Act decriminalised homosexual acts

2. 2005 - Civil Partnership Act for same-sex couples to be able to kind fo get married

3. 2009 - human fertilisation and embryo rights - 2 mums legal parents in IVF/IUI

4. 2014 - legalisation of same-sex marriage

4 impacts of homosexuality policies

• Increase

1. Surrogacy

2. Adoption

3. Divorce

4. Family diversity

4 divorce policies

1. 1949 - legal aid can be used for divorce proceedings

2. 1969 - Divorce Reform Act allows ‘irretrievable breakdown of a marriage’ to be a reason for divorce

3. 1996 - Family Law Act - allows divorce to be mediated by agreement after a period of reflection

4. 2022 - no fault divorces introduced

Impacts of divorce policies

• Increase in step and single-parent families

  • And therefore welfare dependency

• Increase in individualism

  • And therefore instability

2 contraception policies

1. 1967 - legalisation of contraceptive pill

2. Abortion available up to 12 and 26 weeks

Impacts of contraception policies

• Decrease in birthrate, family size and child poverty

• Increase in maternal health, family planning, financial and mental health

• Ability to space children out → increase of child-centered nature of families

• Later childbearing → more maternal careers

Equal opportunity policies

• 1970 - Equal Pay Act halved the pay gap form 30% to 15%

• 1975 - Sex Discrimination Act introduced mat leave

Impacts of equal opportunity policies

• Women encouraged to go into work

• Increase in dual-earner families

• Increase in equality and female independence

School policies and impacts

• School hours don’t line up with a 9-5 working pattern

  • Discriminates against dual earners or single-parent families

Housing policies and impacts

• Give nuclear families priority over single-parent families

Care in the community policies

• Institutionalised if unable to cope in mainstream

• Investment in foster carers, SEND care, children’s homes and PRUs

• Decrease in young offender units