Families: 1. Government Policies

Question 1

Abortion Act (?)

Answer 1

(1967)

Legalised abortion in the UK and made it accessible through the NHS

Question 2

Sexual Offences Act (?)

Answer 2

(1967)

Partially decriminalised male homosexuality in England and Wales. Age of consent was set at 21.

Question 3

The Divorce Reform Act (?)

Answer 3

(1969)
Reduced the previously high cost of divorce and made the legal process a lot easier through the ‘irretrievable breakdown’ clause.

Question 4

Equal Pay Act (?)

Answer 4

(1970)
Made it illegal for employers to pay women less than men employed in the same jobs. ‘Encouraged’ women to enter the workforce.

Question 5

The Sex Discrimination Act (?)

Answer 5

(1975)

Act which outlawed discrimination against women by employers in the workplace

Question 6

What year did the contraceptive pill become available through the NHS?

Answer 6

1961

Question 7

The Children Act (?)

Answer 7

(1989)
Outlined the rights of children and safeguarded them from harm. Major emphasis was put on the role of the family and less on social services.

Question 8

The Children Support Agency (?)

Answer 8

(1993)
Ensured that absent fathers paid maintenance. Meant that where possible, money to support lone families came from absent parents, not the state.

Question 9

Section 28 (?)

Answer 9

(1988)
Prevented local government from ‘promoting’ homosexuality and schools were not allowed to teach of homosexual relationships being a potential family type. Directly attacked a family type that went against the nuclear family.

Question 10

Proposed changes to divorce rules in the 1980s

Answer 10

There was a wish to make divorce more difficult as divorce rates has risen. The plan was to enforce a ‘cooling off’ period of a year between separation and divorce but this was difficult to implement and was never put into action.

Question 11

Key Policies introduced under the Thatcher & Major government (1979-1997) ?

Answer 11

• Children Act 1989
• Child Support Agency (1993)
• Section 28 (1988)
• Proposed changes to divorce rules
  [All heavily New Right influenced]

Question 12

Child Tax Credit Policy

Answer 12

Depending on the amount of children you had, the tax you paid was reduced slightly. Paid to the main carer of the child, usually mother.

Question 13

Paid Paternity Leave (?)

Answer 13

(2003)

Men were able to get two weeks off paid paternity leave.

Question 14

Adoption and Children’s Act (?)

Answer 14

(2002)

Allowed same-sex couples to adopt children, as well as unmarried heterosexual couples and single parent households.

Question 15

Civil Partnership Act (?)

Answer 15

(2005)

Allowed same sex couples to be recognised on the same terms as marriage.

Question 16

Key Policies influenced under the New Labour government (1997-2010) ?

Answer 16

• Child Tax Credit Policy
• Paid Paternity Leave (2003)
• Adoption and Children’s Act (2002)
• Civil Partnership Act (2005)
• Repeal of Section 28 (2003)

Question 17

Troubled Families Programme (?)

Answer 17

(2012)
After the London riots, many Tories were worried about broken families. Identified 120,000 households involved in crime, unemployment and anti-social behaviour and aimed to get them back in work and educate them.

Question 18

Removal of Couples Penalty

Answer 18

Done so that the benefits system did not include a perverse incentive for couples to break up in order to collect more benefits.

Question 19

Dementia Tax

Answer 19

Would’ve forced elderly people who have assets worth over £100,000 to pay for any social care they receive. Previously you could claim free social care unless you had more than £23,000 in your bank.

Question 20

Child Tax Credit Reduction

Answer 20

Child tax credits only made available for two children. Done to discourage people on a low income from having many children and was clearly a money saving measure.

Question 21

Free School Meals

Answer 21

The government initially didn’t want to fund extra money needed for FSM over the holidays. Over COVID 19, many saw it as a no brainer to feed children whose parents didn’t earn a certain amount of money. The government eventually supplied the funding.

Question 22

Socially conservative policies of the modern Conservative party?

Answer 22

• Removal of Couples Penalty
• TFP (2012)
• Dementia Tax
• Child Tax Credit Reduction
• FSM

Question 23

Equal Marriage Act (?)

Answer 23

(2013/14)
Coalition government brought in same-sex marriage. Clear support from both parties in the coalition although some opposition from traditionalists among the Tories.

Question 24

Shared Parental Leave

Answer 24

Both parents to be considered for parental leave, rather than just the mother being allowed an extended period of time and the man only allowed two weeks.

Question 25

Married Couples Tax Allowance

Answer 25

Tax allowance reintroduced for couples where only one party pays tax. This applied to all civil partnerships and marriages, not just heterosexual ones.

Question 26

Socially Liberal policies of the modern Conservative party?

Answer 26

• Equal Marriage Act (2013/14)
• Shared Parental Leave
• Married Couples Tax Allowance
• FSM