Family Policy Digest

Independent review of the Office of the Children's Commissioner - Call for evidence

Department for Education

John Dunford, General secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), is to conduct an independent review of the office, role and functions of the Children's Commissioner for England. The review is looking particularly at the powers, remit and functions of the Children's Commissioner, how this role relates to other functions supported by Government and value for money. The review is being supported by a secretariat of Department for Education officials. The review was announced in Parliament on 12 July 2010. The review is in particular seeking to hear the views of children and young people. The full report and recommendation will be submitted by the end of November 2010 for consideration, which may include the possibility of legislative change.

Full details can be found on the DfE website. Submissions must be with the Department by 4 October 2010.

July 2010

safeguarding children

Public attitudes to safeguarding children

The Children's Society

The paper presents findings from a survey of a representative sample of over 2,000 adults in the UK about attitudes to safeguarding children. The survey explored the views of the public about levels of risk to children aged six to 15 years of age in relation to six hypothetical scenarios of possible abuse or neglect. The research found that people are twice as worried about parents not knowing where their children are after 9pm at night than they are about the potentially damaging effects of slapping.

• 77% said children were exposed to a high level of risk when parents did not know their whereabouts in the evening.
• Being slapped by parents as a standard punishment was only seen as a high risk by 33% (14% said it was 'very high risk').

The report can be downloaded from the Children's Society's website

July 2010

safeguarding children, safety

Tickell review of the Early Years Foundation Stage - Call for evidence

Department for Education

This independent review is to be conducted by Dame Clare Tickell. The review is looking at how best to protect young children's safety and welfare and support their development and learning. The review is being supported by a secretariat of Department for Education officials.

Full details can be found on the DfE website. The closing date for submissions is 30th September 2010.

July 2010

childcare, early learning

Commission on early intervention

Department for Education; Social Justice Cabinet Committee

The review is to look into how early intervention projects can improve the lives of the UK's most vulnerable children. It will be chaired by Labour MP Graham Allen and will look at ways children's professionals can better support children's social and emotional needs and break the cycles of underachievement which blight some of the poorest communities. Examples of successful schemes will be looked at. The review will also look at funding early intervention schemes in "innovative ways" rather than government funding. The review is the first major piece of work to emerge from the Cabinet's social justice committee, which is chaired by Ian Duncan Smith. An interim report will be produced in January 2011, detailing case studies of successful schemes and recommendations on funding. A final report will be published in May 2011.

Further details can be found on the Department for Education website

July 2010

service commissioning, national strategy

Cohabitation, marriage and relationship stability

A Goodman and E Greaves; Institute for Fiscal Studies

The report sets out to critically appraise the assertion in the government's State of the Nation report that cohabiting parents have an increased likelihood of separating relative to married couples. It concludes that marriage does not make relationships between parents more stable. The IFS analysis of data from the Millennium Cohort Study shows that while cohabiting parents are more likely to split up than married ones, there is little evidence that marriage per se is the cause of greater stability between parents, or that encouraging more people to get married would result in fewer couples splitting up. Parents who are cohabiting when their child is born are three times more likely to split up by the time their child is five than married parents (27% compared to 9%). However they are also typically younger, less well off, less likely to own their own homes, have fewer educational qualifications and are less likely to plan their pregnancies than married people. Once these differences between the two groups are accounted for, the difference in the likelihood of separation almost disappears (falling to 2 percentage points). The IFS analysis shows that relationship stability is mainly determined not by marriage but by other factors such as age, education, occupation and income, and delaying and planning pregnancy. These factors are also influential in whether people choose to marry or not. So while married couples have more stable relationships than couples who cohabit, this is not because they are married, but because of the other characteristics they have that lead to marriage.

The report can be downloaded from the IFS website.

July 2010

couple relationships, family break-up

The UK Family Friendly report card 2010

Family and Parenting Institute

The Prime Minister David Cameron has said he wants Britain to become the most family friendly country in Europe. So how far does Britain have to go before it can be considered a truly family friendly society? In a timely move for exam season, the Family and Parenting Institute is launching this Family Friendly Report Card, awarding the country school-style grades on areas of family policy.

Full details can be found on the Institute's website.

July 2010

national strategy

Commission on the funding of care and support

Department of Health

The Commission's terms of reference include considering a range of funding ideas including both voluntary insurance and partnership schemes. The Commission will be chaired by Andrew Dilnot with two further commissioners, Lord Norman Warner and Dame Jo Williams and it and will report within a year. It will examine and provide recommendations on:

• the best way to meet care and support costs as a partnership between individuals and the state;
• how an individual's assets are protected against the cost of care;
• how public funding for the care and support system can be best used to meet needs;
• how to deliver the preferred option including implementation timescales and impact on local government.

Further details can be found on the Commission's website.

July 2010

national strategy

Families with children in Britain: findings from the 2008 families and children study (FACS)

Department for Work and Pensions

The research explores the characteristics and circumstances of families and children in 2008, based on analysis of the Families and Children Study (FACS). This is a longitudinal survey focusing on the circumstances of families in Britain. FACS provides information about children, their parents and families as a whole across a wide range of subjects. The main findings are that:

• Almost one quarter (23 per cent) of children lived in a lone parent family. Lone parent families were more likely than couple families to live in social housing and to be in the lowest income quintile.
• Forty nine per cent of lone parents working less than 16 hrs pw reported running out of money before the end of the week or month. Thirty six per cent were worried about money 'almost all the time'.
• Lone parent families were more than three times as likely as couple families to belong to the lowest income quintile (35 per cent and 11 per cent, respectively). The working status of the family had a strong association with the probability of having a low income.
• Lone parent families, families where no one was in work for 16 or more hours per week and families in the lowest and second income quintile were, on average, more likely to be deprived than other families.

The report can be downloaded from the DWP website.

July 2010

family trends

A minimum income standard for the UK in 2010

Donald Hirsch et al.; Joseph Rowntree Foundation

This is the JRF's 2010 annual update, based on what members of the public think people need to achieve a socially acceptable standard of living. Over time, changes in prices alter the cost of a minimum standard of living, and changes in social norms will change the 'minimum' that is required. This study considers both of these elements, and updates the budgets to April 2010. Some of the key findings are that:

• A single person in Britain needs to earn at least £14,400 a year before tax in 2010, to afford a basic but acceptable standard of living. A couple with two children needs £29,200.
• Tax allowances and tax credit thresholds not being uprated in 2010 means people need to earn a lot more to afford the increased cost of living. The Budget has raised tax allowances for 2011, but for some families with children, other Budget measures will potentially offset all of the gain from higher allowances.

The report can be downloaded from the JRF website.

July 2010

poverty

The Academies Act 2010

The Act permits opted-out academies to keep the percentage of funding that otherwise would have been held by local education authorities. It also paves the way a second key aspect of the government's education reforms - "free schools" being set up by parents, teachers and other groups. The first wave of opting out schools are expected to become academies in September.

Full details of the The Act can be found on the Office of Public Sector Information website.

July 2010

educational achievement, parents and schools

21st Century Welfare white paper

Department for Work and Pensions

Options in the paper include combining elements of the current income-related benefits and tax credit systems, bringing out-of-work and in-work support together in a single system, and supplementing monthly household earnings through credit payments reflecting circumstances such as children, housing and disability. The system is intended to provide more incentive to work as benefits will be withdrawn more slowly alongside gaining employment and to create a simpler system, which will allow for less error and fraud.

The white paper can be downloaded from the DWP website.

The proposals are open for consultation and comments until 1st October 2010.

July 2010

tax and benefits

Work Life Balance Knowing Families: what families need to balance work and family life

Family and Parenting Institute

Having the right to work more flexibly will help to make Britain a more family friendly place to work. There have been substantial improvements over the last five years in improving the reconciliation of work and family life commitments. And yet, too many families still struggle to find a job that can be combined with family life. Caring for dependents makes finding work difficult and is an area of stress for many families. Reconciling the need to provide financial support and being able to care emotionally and practically for dependents is a crucial element in maintaining good family relationships.

This briefing is part of the Family and Parenting Institute's Knowing Families series.

The report can be downloaded from the Institute's website.

July 2010

flexible working

Time for a Fresh Start

The Independent Commission on Youth Crime and Antisocial Behaviour

The Commission's report focuses on the use of restorative justice – requiring young offenders to face up to the harm they have caused their victims and to make amends and places this at the heart of wide-ranging reform proposals. The Commission, which conducted an in-depth study of alternatives to the existing response to youth crime in England and Wales, concludes that restorative meetings known as 'youth conferencing' are the way to deliver better justice for the victims of crime, while cutting reoffending rates and reducing the number of young people who end up in prison. The report estimates the public service costs of dealing with youth crime and antisocial behaviour as more than £4 billion a year. It also argues that many millions of pounds are being wasted each year on custody for the under-18s. The Commission sets a target for the current use of custody to be halved to fewer than a thousand young offenders at any one time without adding to crime rates and compromising public safety. And it urges a significant reinvestment of resources in early intervention to tackle seriously antisocial behaviour among children, prevent later offending and save more money for the taxpayer.

The report can be downloaded from the Commission's website.

July 2010

anti-social behaviour, youth justice