Government Green paper
Family and Parenting Institute's response to the Government's green paper
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Welcome to the March 2009 issue of the Family and Parenting Institute's newsletter – Family Focus.To subscribe to this newsletter click here
1. News
2. Family Policy Digest
3. Horizon scan
4. Forward look
5. Notice board
6. Consultations
News
Parenting Fund projects announced
Ninety grants will be given to charities and voluntary organisations as part of the Parenting Fund Round Three. Projects will be run in 23 areas across the country and will help young parents, families affected by drug or alcohol abuse as well as organisations which work with fathers and provide support for couple relationships.
Child protection
The new report, The Database State, from the Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust suggests that ContactPoint, along with some other state-run databases, is almost certainly illegal under human rights or data protection laws.
Each Local Safeguarding Children's Board (LSCB) will have two members of the public on it. It is one of the recommendations in Lord Laming's review of child protection and is a bid to open up the child protection system to greater public scrutiny.
Lord Laming's full report - The Protection of Children in England: A Progress Report - is now available to download.
Family Policy Digest
This month's digest includes the Child Health Strategy, a report on how councils are supporting disabled parents, research on contact in separated families, and the Cambridge Primary Review.
Horizon Scan
Budget announcement
The Chancellor, Alistair Darling will make his Budget statement to the House of Commons on 22 April 2009 at 12:30pm.
Family life today
The Family and Parenting Institute will be releasing the results of its new survey into family life next week. It asks what are the biggest issues facing families and the role of government in helping them.
Flexible working
The right to request flexible working will be extended to include all parents with children 16 or under and parents of disabled children who are aged 18 or under. It will come into force on April 6.
Child tax credit and child benefit
The Government will increase the child element of the child tax credit by £25 above indexation in April 2009 rather than April 2010, as originally planned. Child benefit will increase for the first child to £20 a week.
New ESA assessments
Incapacity benefit (IB) claimants will be reassessed using the new Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) work capability assessment and those who pass the assessment will be transferred over to ESA.
Help for mums to be
The Government will be introducing a new Health in Pregnancy Grant from April 2009. This will be a one-off payment during the seventh month of pregnancy and will be in addition to Healthy Start vouchers, worth £2.80 a week.
Forward Look
Find out about events and seminars happening across the sector including the 'Youth in Crisis? Gangs, Territoriality and Violence' event run by British Society of Criminology on April 24.
Notice board
School-parent partnership report
This new report contains factsheets, discussion guides and case studies which will help schools develop better relationships with parents. It is based on research carried out last year which sought the opinions of school staff, parents and children.
Family and Parenting Institute conference 2009
Following on from the success of our Parent Child 2008 conference, we will be holding a one day event on Monday November 30 2009. Speakers include Matthew Taylor Chief Executive, RSA (Royal Society of Arts) and former Chief Adviser on Political Strategy to Tony Blair.
Click here to register your interest
Couple relationships – executive summary
The executive summary of a new report on couple relationships from the Family and Parenting Institute (out soon) is available to download.
Family policy across Europe: a compendium of comparative studies
This compendium of research serves as an introduction to family policy across Europe. Nine comparative studies are featured in depth, most of which can be easily accessed online, with links to over 20 more.
Health Visitor factsheets
What role can health visitors play in detecting post natal depression and domestic violence? New briefings from the Family and Parenting Institute highlight the unique position health visitors are in to help parents facing these problems.
More - Post natal depression
Domestic Violence
Consultations
Consultations due to close in April include the consultation on guidance for young people and their parents on alcohol consumption.
Emma Brennan Press & PR Officer
www.familyandparenting.org
March 2009
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