Family Policy and UK governments 1997-2017

AQA Sociology A Level Families and Households

The family and Labour Government 1997-2017

* Shifted emphasis to family policy
* The government moved away from New Right thinking to ideas of greater acceptance of diverse forms of families

Family values and social liberalism

2 main beliefs, social liberalism and a belief in supporting and controlling families. Social liberalism was reflected in a range of measures introduced by the Labour governments:

* Gender equality promoted through the extension of maternity leave, and through measures that allow the transfer of maternity leave to fathers
* Childcare Act of 2006, government financial support for childcare was extended
* 1998 Human Rights Act which made discrimination against different types of family illegal
* Removed requirement to be married to have NHS fertility treatment or the right to adopt children

Social Liberalism

Involving a belief in gender equality and acceptance of a wide variety of different types of family

Support and Control

* Child poverty was reduced by more than 25% under Labour governments
* Financial support was given through Child Tax Credits which boosted the income of parents with low levels of income
* Sure start centres
* Family Intervention Projects, which were established to work with families at risk
* Parenting Order- parents had to have guidance of their children act in anti-social ways

EVAL of Labour family policies/Henricson

Labour government shifted policy towards a more interventionist approach to families, as well as reducing child poverty and producing greater equality between men and women in families

Policies supporting traditional family structures (Coalition and Conservatives)

2015, Cameron introduced a tax break for married couples and civil partners. Partners who earned over 12k could transfer some of their money to partners who earned under 12k, so they could have more money that was untaxed. It benefitted 4 million couples, and was an incentive for marriage

Policies which did not support traditional family structures

Childcare policies such as shared parental leave, legalisation of same sex marriage and 30 free hours of childcare per week actually went against traditional family values, as they encouraged both parents to work and homosexual marriage

Policies affecting choices over family formation and intervention in families

These policies actively intervened in family life:

* Policy introduced to reduce immigration: Spouses of British citizens who did not have UK citizenship could only come to Britain if their spouse had an income of £18,600 or more- this discriminated against those on low incomes
* In 2017 the government withdrew child benefits from claimants for 3rd or additional children, and this policy was aimed to discourage benefit-reliant families