Family Policy Conference

11 July 2012

The Abbey CentreWestminster

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“We’ve awarded the UK a D+ grade for its family friendly status.”

Read the Family Report Card 2012

Dr Katherine Rake, Chief Executive of the Family and Parenting Institute, launched the Family Report Card 2012.

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“The economy continues to make life intensely difficult for millions of UK families, who currently face a triple squeeze of tax and benefit changes, high childcare costs and high costs of living.”

Dr Katherine Rake, Family and Parenting Institute

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“Families serve as the shock absorbers of society when times are tough. But millions of families are close to breaking point due to financial pressures. We are worried there is even worse to come as austerity measures are carried through and median family income is predicted to continue to fall until 2015.”

“Essentially, Mr Cameron is running up the down escalator. The pro-family policies that he has introduced are being dwarfed by the economic situation. He needs to be much bolder if families are to thrive.”

Dr Katherine Rake

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The Minister welcomed the report card which reminded all Government departments of the importance of responding to the needs of families.

• She said that while receiving the D+ grade was disappointing, the longer term outlook for families would have been worse if the Government hadn’t initiated an immediate deficit reduction plan.

• She highlighted a range of policies – from parenting classes to nursery places for disadvantaged two year olds – all of which aimed to support families in a tough climate.

Sarah Teather MP, Minister of State (Children and Families), gave a robust response from Government.

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“The UK is not unique – there is less money available and Government has to prioritise and make compromises. It has chosen to invest in areas that matter to families, particularly those on low incomes – those that struggle the most.”

“When times are tight the only thing you can do is make the least worst decision.”

Sarah Teather

Watch Sarah Teather’s full speech

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Four speakers explored the needs of families during a period of austerity and set out how Government, local authorities, business and charities could respond.

What do families need and how do we deliver it?

Ben PageChief ExecutiveIpsos MORI

Gavin KellyChief ExecutiveResolution Foundation

Mike ReesHead of PolicyKnowsley Council

Dan CorryChief ExecutiveNew Philanthropy Capital

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Ben Page gave an informative, lively tour of public opinion with insights into how we can support families in the future:

• He pointed out that we know things are bad – this is the longest recession ever.

• He argued that we are going to be experiencing the effects for a long time to come.

Ben Page, Ipsos MORI

• But he felt that the country was hitting young people hardest. He identified a scarring, cumulative effect . We know that just a year of youth unemployment affects people well into their 40s – inequality will go up and we have to try new things, particularly for young people.

See a video clip of Ben Page

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This the first generation in their polling history that doesn’t think the future is going to be better than the past for children.

When you ask people what would make them happier – the number one thing isn’t more money, or more time for leisure – it’s having more time with family. And this is consistent across all social classes.

When asked what would do most to reduce crime in Britain, people don’t say better police, better schooling – but better parenting.

All of our solutions that need more money won’t work. We need to do something different.

Read Ben Page’s full presentation

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Gavin Kelly, Resolution Foundation

Gavin Kelly provided an expert perspective on the impact of austerity on families in the UK. He set this against a backdrop of longer-term trends in family income; in particular the growing gap between top earners and those on lower incomes.

• He suggested that in terms of economic growth we may be heading for a lost ‘two decades’.

• He also pinpointed employment, as opposed to Government spending, as the key to delivering growth in family income in the years ahead.

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“We can’t work out how to go forward if we don’t work out what was going on with our economy even when it was growing.”

Gavin explored trends in household income from 2002-2009. Tax credits were shown to be the biggest single driver of growth in household budgets and working men (with a partner not in work with children) have seen the biggest fall in household wages. Looking ahead, he concluded that:

• There is a lack of strategy for supporting those with children in the tax and benefit system.

• He argued for the central importance of childcare. This is one of the key things that we must continue to campaign on in order to build a more family friendly UK.

Read Gavin Kelly’s full presentation or see a video clip of his speech

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Mike Rees share an innovative segmentation approach to family policy that has been designed and tested at Knowsley over some years.

To target services at the right groups, the Council developed a typology of four groups of families: ‘chaotic’, ‘just coping’, ‘coping’ and ‘thriving’.

This enabled the LA to develop public services which served as an ‘escalator’ for these groups of families, for example, helping ‘just coping’ families move towards ‘coping’.

Mike Rees, Knowsley Council

His presentation also pinpointed 2013 as a year when a wave of changes would hit at the local level, a point at which ‘everything happens’.

Read Mike Rees’s full presentation

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Dan Corry, New Philanthropy Capital

Dan Corry highlighted the importance of the voluntary sector in responding to the needs of families, but felt the VCS could be more effective in demonstrating impact. • He argued that shared metrics and outcomes

would help Government and funders understand more about how services were meeting the needs of families.

• He left the audience with a challenge, encouraging them not to just accept the status quo and narrative around reform but instead continue to advocate and campaign for change.

“Maybe the charity sector has a role in asking if it’s the wrong narrative and there are different options.”

Read Dan Corry’s full presentation or see a video clip of his speech

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Roundtable discussions for participants were also held around these themes…

1. Health and wellbeing

2. Supporting strong couple relationships

3. Financial resilience

4. Reaching diverse families

5. Supporting families in the labour market

6. Supporting confident parenting

7. Supporting older people in the family.

8. Universal approaches to addressing need.

9. Supporting families with complex needs

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Next steps

• The Family and Parenting Institute will feedback the key points emerging from the day and the roundtables to the Prime Minister’s office.

• The real test is what families say … tell us what you think @FamiliesUK

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