In our second press release for National Family Week the Relationships Foundation calls for the new coalition to commit to ‘family proofing’ all government policy. (1) The Prime Minister has promised that ‘making Britain more family-friendly is still a crucial objective of this coalition government.’ (2) Progressive Families, Progressive Britain, a recent report by the Relationships Foundation, argues that to do this all policy should be ‘family proofed’, to create an environment that promotes and sustains strong family relationships – of all sorts – rather than undermining them. (3)
Executive Director Michael Trend comments, “The new government has spoken positively about making Britain more family-friendly: the difficulty is making this a reality. In our first press release for National Family Week RF called for families to be put at the heart of government. The government has recognised that this is true of the ‘Big Society’ – it has Cabinet level responsibility and a clear strategy, unlike family policy. Making sure all policy actually is more pro-family is a difficult task: ‘family proofing’ is key. This involves checking the consequences of any policy, regardless of whether it is explicitly aimed at families, for its impact on family relationships and wellbeing.”
Previous Relationships Foundation projects have demonstrated a ‘penumbra effect’ showing where the strength and effectiveness of family relationships both influence and are influenced by a wide range of policy areas. (4) These include education, health and social care, housing, employment, criminal justice, finance and debt, and tax and welfare payments.
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.
Executive Director Michael Trend said, “A commitment to family proofing policy is important in signaling a serious commitment to family relationships and ensuring that public policy strengthens those relationships that are essential for wellbeing. Stronger, more stable families could save billions of pounds each year across departments – satisfying continuing demands for progress while reducing the fiscal deficit.”
ENDS
1 National Family Week runs from 31st May – 6th June 2010. For more information see www.nationalfamilyweek.co.uk
2 Progressive Families, Progressive Britain: Why Britain needs family proofing of policy, Relationships Foundation, 2010
3 The Penumbra, Relationships Foundation, 2008.