The first in a series of pre-election Briefing Notes from the Relationships Foundation: “What Replaces ‘Big Government’? Introducing the Penumbra Model”.
The Relationships Foundation is a cross-party think tank proposing new ideas for a better connected society. In this, the first of our pre-election Briefing Notes, we focus on one question recently raised by Conservative Party policy-makers – what replaces big government?
If the Conservatives were to win power, how could they govern while reducing the size of government?
Our recent publication, The Penumbra Effect – Family-centred Public Policy, offers a way of resolving this predicament. The penumbra diagram below shows that family is the key factor in many areas of policy. The government cannot legislate better families into existence, but it can support family across a range of issues such as housing, debt, working time legislation, or social care.
Getting family right will have more impact on health or education spending than any other policy decision – successful families provide welfare, reduce the benefit burden and improve education outcomes. Failed families cause problems across departments – increasing health, criminal justice and housing costs. Our recent Go Right/ Go Wrong pamphlet contrasts the £87 billion in unpaid support provided by ‘volunteer’ carers, most often family members with the £37 billion spent by taxpayer each year as a result of family breakdown.
The penumbra also shows that strengthening family is about more than a marriage tax allowance or the ending of the ‘couple penalty’. Almost all areas of public policy impact on the family whether intentionally or otherwise. The penumbra model shows the areas in which the family has a positive role to play – building capacity, exerting influence and giving support; but also issues that can put pressure on families – causing or exacerbating friction in relationships. If government is to play a smaller role in society, then families are going to have to play a bigger role.
But should family have a role in public policy?
Many Western governments have abandoned intentional policy from a family perspective despite its critical importance to children, elderly people and the vulnerable. There has been a reluctance to deal with family for the following reasons:
· It is considered part of the private sphere and therefore outside public interest
· It is seen as involving moral judgements
· The economic significance of the family is underestimated.
Our penumbra model clearly shows that public policy already is involved in shaping the sort of families we have. The issue is managing the scope and nature of the interface. Policy is necessarily humble about its ability to shape personal relationships, but can seek to create an environment that sustains relationships rather than undermining them. The focus should not be on the ethics/morality of family relationships, but a desire to create a supportive environment for sustainable families – of all shapes and sizes.
In an earlier report, Thriving Lives, the Foundation argued that the goal of all policy should be to increase wellbeing. Research shows that the most significant factor influencing wellbeing is the quantity and quality of relationships a person has, and the most important set of relationships are those within the family. In our recent pamphlet, The Triple Test, the Foundation suggested that policy development, proposals for legislation and government action should all be subject to a triple test – economic, environmental and social. Policy-makers and implementers should always test their proposals not only to ensure, as far as is possible, that these do not damage existing relational links, but also to see if ways can be found to encourage people increasingly to connect with each other in the public sphere. Strong communities and extended families can build financial and social capital, increasing wellbeing and reducing long-term pressures on spending.
Good family policy does three things
· Promotes wellbeing – which depends significantly on family and other relationships
· Reduces the social and economic costs and consequences of weak and fractured relationships – this is essential in maintaining a competitive economy. Education, health, policing, housing, welfare and social care all face significantly increased demand pressures when family relationships break down
· Increases social mobility – extended families provide access to opportunities and the capabilities to take opportunities when they arise.
The penumbra diagram highlights a range of levers that can support families and ultimately strengthen society. The three aims above can be met through:
Motivation – encouraging a culture that values family relationships,
Opportunity – enabling family relationships and the exercise of responsibility within them,
Support – relieving pressure on relationships and helping people to cope with their responsibilities.
Conclusion
Replacing big government will require changes to the ways systems operate, harnessing the power of choice and transparency of information. But sustained significant change will require that many of those families and communities which currently increase demands for services and inhibit progress become more successful drivers of progress. The choice facing any government is whether to create a social order that sustains the family, or risk its continuing erosion.
The penumbra approach highlights areas in which the family has a positive role to play – places in which family relationships can sustain, enable and exert positive pressure. Recognising this in public policy decisions ensures a long-term integrated approach in the interest of all citizens. Strong families and extended families built on trust and responsibility can:
· Increase financial and social capital leading to a stronger society
· Improve wellbeing and reduce long-term pressures on public spending
· Reduce the role played by the State leading to a low tax economy.
But the penumbra diagram also shows issues that can also put pressure on families – causing or exacerbating friction in relationships. Ignoring this two-way interaction has serious negative implications for individuals, families, communities, and the UK as a whole. Weak and broken family units undermine trust and responsibility and can:
· Require increased State intervention with significant cost implications
· Reduce financial and social capital
· Disrupt/reduce social mobility entrenching disadvantage.
A new administration will need a big, overarching theme to implement its vision of smaller (and more joined-up) government: the penumbra model could be the basis for this. Every policy should be proofed to ensure that it motivates, encourages and supports strong stable families. If big government is out then families should be back in.
Subsequent Briefing Notes will look in more detail at how to bring about a more integrated approach as well as detailing specific policy suggestions.