British politicians and policy makers must formally spell out to the people of the United Kingdom what government needs and expects from families if goals are to be achieved. It must also set out a clear strategy for supporting families.
The family deal should be at the heart of understanding of rights and responsibilities between the government and the general public. It needs to be clearly stated and easily understood. It needs to be written into departmental plans. But it must also be more than just a political pledge and needs ultimately to be an expression of social consensus. The resulting responsibilities for both families and government will be expressed in many policy areas in terms of entitlements, obligations, rewards, incentives, and behavioural nudges.
But first and foremost it requires political leadership – to set out and gain acceptance for a new family deal.
Governments cannot achieve their goals, especially in a time of economic difficulty, without a strong contribution from families. Reducing the deficit, crime and welfare dependency and increasing wellbeing, children’s life chances and health depend upon what happens in families.
But families in the UK are among the most pressured in Europe (see the Relationships Foundation’s Family Pressure Gauge 2011 and the regional breakdowns in the UK Family Pressure Gauge 2012).
There has always been a deal – a set of expectations and responsibilities – that govern our welfare and social provision. But for too long the deal hasn’t been clear, and hasn’t been honoured.
The costs of failure – some £42 billion a year (see the Relationships Foundation annual Cost of Family Failure Index) – are loaded onto others.
The Relationships Foundation is therefore calling on the government to set out a new Family Deal.
Every government department should be clear about the extent to which it depends on families, and test how family friendly its policies and actions are.
And families must be clear about their responsibilities and the support they can expect to receive.
Only when there is a clear plan and a strong leadership at the heart of government can we begin to make progress towards becoming the most family-friendly country in Europe, the government’s stated goal.