Laws and Policies and the Family

Question 1

Laws

Answer 1

The system of rules which a particular country or community recognizes as regulating the actions of its members and which it may enforce by the imposition of penalties.

Question 2

Policies

Answer 2

Policies are usually based on laws introduced by governments that provide the framework within which these agencies will operate. For example, laws lay down who is entitled to each specific welfare benefit.

Question 3

Social Policy

Answer 3

A plan or course of action put into place by a government in an attempt to solve a particular social problem.
Social policies are generated in response to social problems, identified by sociologists’ research, statistics or data collected by groups such as governmental departments or charities
Sometimes created by politicians who want to send messages about what they see as good for the family

Question 4

Left Wing Policies

Answer 4

Regard NF as desirable
Accept alternatives and view them as equally good at raising children
The state should play a role in family life
Both parents should work

Question 5

Right Wing Policies

Answer 5

NF is ideal
Alternative family forms are inadequate
The fact NF is declining is a crisis
Breakdown of NF has caused social problems
The state should play a limited role in family life
Supports traditional roles in the family

Question 6

The Beveridge Report 1942

Answer 6

A summary of principles necessary to banish poverty and ‘want’ from Britain
The paper proposed a system of social security which would be operated by the state, to be implemented at war’s end.
Argued for social progression which required a coherent government policy: ‘Social insurance fully developed may provide income security; it is an attack upon Want…The others are Disease, Ignorance, Squalor and Idleness.’
Based on surveys covering topics of poverty, old age and low birth, rates and The problem of a diminishing population.
Beveridge argued, made it ‘imperative to give first place in social expenditure to the care of childhood and to the safeguarding of maternity’.
Other areas covered were unemployment, disability and retirement. A large section of the report describes the economic situation and his vision for provision rates of benefit and contribution and how they might be managed.

Question 7

Effects of Beveridge Report 1942

Answer 7

• In 1945, Attlee announced the introduction of the Welfare State as outlined in the Beveridge Report.
• This included the establishment of a National Health Service in 1948, with free medical treatment for all.
• A national system of benefits was also introduced to provide social security so that the population would be protected ‘from the cradle to the grave’.
• Beveridge Report is still considered the foundation of the modern Welfare State.
• Made family welfare a state issue.
• National Insurance, money that is deducted from people’s wages that helps pay for people’s welfare
• The 1948 National Assistance Act abolished the Poor Law and enacting a raft of measures designed to relieve poverty.
• The 1948 Children Act established a children’s committee and a children’s officer in each local authority.

Question 8

Evaluation of Beveridge Report

Answer 8

• Bartholemew notes that: “In a survey at the time, nineteen out of twenty people had heard of the report and almost all were in favour of it” Widespread public support led the government to act sooner on the proposals that they had initially wanted
• Marxism: Capitalism was the cause of poverty and could not be reformed. It would, therefore, be wrong for socialists to support attempts to reform the system to make it more palatable
• (Feminists) Blackburn:“despite women’s sterling war effort, Beveridge deliberately reduced married women, with regard to social security, to second class citizens…First, Beveridge specified that married working women should pay reduced national insurance contributions and, as a result, they received lower benefits…feminists criticise Beveridge for assuming that the majority of married/cohabiting women would abandon paid work to be financially supported by a male breadwinner.”

Question 9

The 1969 Divorce Act (and the 1984 Divorce Act)

Answer 9

Previous to 1969, one partner had to prove that the other was ‘at fault’ in order to be granted a divorce. And unfair to women who had to prove adultery and desertion while men only had to prove adultery.
Made the sole ground for divorce is ‘irretrievable breakdown’ which can be proven in five different ways.
Neither partner no longer had to prove “fault”.
However, if only one partner wanted a divorce, they still had to wait 5 years from the date of marriage to get one. In 1984 this was changed so that a divorce could be granted within one year of marriage.

Question 10

Effects of Divorce Legislation

Answer 10

This law led to a significant increase in the number of divorces.
The divorce rate increased massively from 58,239 in 1970 to 119,025 in 1972, the year it came into effect.
It allowed couples to divorce after they had been separated for two years (or five years if only one of them wanted a divorce).
A marriage could be ended if it had irretrievably broken down, and neither partner no longer had to prove ‘fault’. This act allowed individuals to leave marriages that were simply unhappy, which provided greater choice for men and women in relationships.

Question 11

Recent updates to Divorce Legislation

Answer 11

In 2019 the government announced that as soon as time became available divorce laws would be reformed.
Currently, if a couple wants a divorce and neither party admits blame, they must live apart for two years. If one wants a divorce and the other doesn’t its 5 years.
New laws will include a minimum timeframe of six months from petition stage to a marriage being ended, designed to allow couples to reflect on their decision.
They will also prevent people from refusing a divorce if their spouse wants one.
Shifting the emphasis from blame to resolution by taking out the requirement for airing dirty laundry or sharing upsetting incidents from making the process quicker and less antagonistic

Question 12

Evaluation of Divorce Legislation

Answer 12

For Functionalists, high divorce rates are simply the price we have to pay for living in nuclear families.
Fletcher (1966), argued that higher divorce rates were linked to a higher value being placed on marriage as couples came to expect love and mutual support rather than a relationship based on economic and practical reasons.
Allan and Crowe (2001) argue that the changing position of women in society has been one of the main factors influencing a rise in the number of divorces. In the 1940s, around two-thirds of divorce petitions were initiated by men. Women often did not have the financial resources to fund divorce cases and were likely to find themselves much worse off without the economic support of a husband. In 2012, 65 per cent of divorces were initiated by women

Question 13

Equal Pay Act of 1970

Answer 13

An Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that prohibited any less favourable treatment between men and women in terms of pay and conditions of employment.

Question 14

Effects of the Equal Pay Act

Answer 14

This act made it illegal to discriminate against men or women on the grounds of their sex in relation to pay. Despite the act coming into force men are still often paid more than women when doing the same job.
Despite this, the Equal Pay Act was important in sending a message to women that they were legally entitled to equal pay, even if in reality this was not necessarily practised.
Some employers got around the legislation, for example, by raising the women’s rates to the lowest male rate, even when the women’s jobs were more demanding than the men’s, or by creating different job titles for the women.
Despite these strategies, full-time women’s average earnings compared to men’s rose by 5%, from 72% to 77%, over a 5 year period in the 1970s - the biggest ever increase in this ratio.

Question 15

The Civil partnerships Act 2004 and The Marriage (Same-Sex Couples) Act 2013

Answer 15

The Civil Partnership Act 2004 gave same-sex couples the rights and responsibilities similar to those in a civil marriage.
Introduced by the New Labour government in power at the time. Civil partners are entitled to the same property rights, the same exemptions on inheritance tax, social security and pension benefits as married couples. The same ability to get parental responsibility for a partner’s children as well as reasonable maintenance, tenancy rights, insurance and next-of-kin rights in hospital and with doctors.
There is a process similar to divorce for dissolving a civil partnership.
18,000 couples entered into a civil partnership between December 2005 and the end of December 2006, with approximately 6000 taking place each year since.
Later sex couples were allowed to enter into a marriage in England and Wales on the same basis as heterosexual couples, and to convert Civil Partnerships to Marriages.

Question 16

Effects on Same-Sex Legislation

Answer 16

Highly controversial, these acts represented the recognition of homosexual marriage as a positive alternative to heterosexual relationships.
This was an important shift from the state labelling homosexuality as a crime (homosexuality was only decriminalised in 1967) to regarding homosexual parents as having the same rights and roles as heterosexual couples.
It included recognition of homosexual parents as being suitable for raising children successfully, representing a huge shift in social attitudes.
In 2015 there were 6,493 marriages between same-sex couples, 9000 same-sex couples converted their civil partnership into a marriage.
The group of people answering that they thought same-sex partnerships were “not wrong at all” has almost quadrupled from 17% when the survey started in 1983, to 64% in 2016.

Question 17

Evaluation of Same-Sex Legislation

Answer 17

CPA was a separate and segregated system that gave them right that were still restricted
A steep rise in homophobic hate crimes has been recorded over the past five years, but this is thought to be in large part down to an increase in people reporting incidents rather than a genuine rise in crime.
Functionalists and the New Right disagree with this because it promotes diverse family types such as same-sex couples and cohabitation, which they believe does not meet the needs of society like the nuclear family does.
They also believe that this type of family is not natural. Feminists, however, agree with the policies as it allows women to make choices freely about their sexuality and family type.
Marxists also agree as it promotes equality, which is a Marxist belief.
Post-Modernists also agree because it offers people the freedom to choose their ideal family type.

Question 18

Married Couple Tax Allowance

Answer 18

Couples who are married get a tax break meaning they have less than cohabiting couples. Cut by New Labour, this policy clearly indicates a preference and adds an incentive for marriage over cohabitation.

Question 19

Effects of Married Couple Tax Allowance

Answer 19

Wanted it to lead to an increase in marriage
With 12.9 million families, the married or civil partner couple family remains the most common in 2017, with the cohabiting couple family growing the fastest.
There is currently no such thing as common law marriage in UK law, meaning cohabiting couples do not have the same legal rights as married couples. The Cohabitation Rights Bill, which addresses the rights of cohabiting couples, is in the early stages of passing through Parliament.
No effect

Question 20

Evaluation of Coalition government Policies

Answer 20

Their family policies fail to support alternatives to the nuclear family or, at worst, regard the alternatives to the nuclear family as inferior or inadequate for raising children. Given that such a high proportion of families today are no longer nuclear, these policies are not regarded as reflecting the experiences of family life for many people.
Feminists and others have argued that Coalition family policies have hit women hardest, resulting in greater hardship for women and their children in many cases. As the Coalition government attempted to cut back benefits in general, it is the poorest and most vulnerable groups who have been most negatively affected, thus, according to some, widening the gap between the rich and the poor.

Question 21

Abortion Act 1967

Answer 21

Legalising abortions on certain grounds by registered practitioners, and regulating the tax-paid provision of such medical practices through the National Health Service (NHS)
The abortion policy was brought in place to legalise abortion which would allow women to terminate their children when they become pregnant.
Abortion is generally allowed up to the twenty-fourth week of pregnancy if two doctors think that continuing the pregnancy involves a risk “greater than if the pregnancy were terminated” to the physical or mental health of the pregnant woman, or to other children in her family.

Question 22

Effect of Abortion Act 1967

Answer 22

Around 202,000 abortions were recorded in Britain in 2016—that’s around 4,000 a week on average.
97% of abortions for residents in England and Wales in 2016 were on the grounds that the pregnancy continuing posed a risk of injury to the mother’s physical or mental health, “greater than if the pregnancy were terminated”.

Question 23

Evaluation of Abortion Act 1967

Answer 23

Functionalists disagree with abortion because they say it is not natural and destroys the traditional nuclear family. The New Right agree with this by saying it will destroy the existence of the nuclear family.
The Post-Modernist view however agrees with abortion because it allows freedom of choice for women. Feminists acquire this view as it allows women to choose whether they want children or not.
Marxists also agree with this as fewer children will be exploited by the Bourgeoisie. However, they also disagree as there will be less, people in the future workforce.

Question 24

Additional Paternity Pay 2011

Answer 24

This is for husbands who work to have time of off work to help care and support their new born baby and mother for the first couple of weeks of their life.
This leave is divided into a two 26-week periods. After the first 26 weeks, the father of the child (or the mother’s partner) has the right to take up to 26 weeks’ leave if their partner returns to work, in effect taking the place of the mother at home.

Question 25

Evaluation of Additional Paternity Pay 2011

Answer 25

Functionalists believe that this is not what supports the traditional nuclear family. Within the family there is 2 distinct roles for the man and woman, the man to be the breadwinner and the woman to care for the children. Therefore, this policy allows the men to take part in the role of the woman.
Also, feminists also disagree. The women is seen to be the main caregiver, therefore, they would not need to have help. However, this clears some division of unequal labour as men are able to help women out instead of exploiting them. Also, they’d like the idea that the women get more money and time of off work for maternity leave which gives them the most important role of the main caregiver.
The New Right would not like this as men have the choice to leave work for a period of time and still get paid for it, the new right believes any benefits given by the government should be scrapped.
Marxists would like this as it helps out the working class while they are able to bond and care for their newborn children. Therefore, the higher class are benefiting the working class for one type of thing.

Question 26

Functionalism

Answer 26

Increased state support for alternative family forms
Increased privatisation of the family increases pressure on marriage
Divorce may be a result of higher expectations of relationships and marriage (Flecther)
Fewer social pressures from kin networks to maintain marriages

Question 27

The New Right

Answer 27

Policies have allowed “less functional” forms of family to emerge
Single mothers are now “married to the state”
Values of the underclass reduce the importance of marriage

Question 28

Feminism

Answer 28

Rising rates of divorce are a challenge to Patriarchy & patriarchal institutions
Liberal Feminists would suggest this demonstrates a change in women’s position and attitudes
This may also reflect the ability of women to remove themselves from abusive relationships

Question 29

Radical Feminsits

Answer 29

More radical feminists would suggest that a ‘family ideology’ still exists (e.g. Barrett & McIntosh)
Alternatives to the traditional family are still regarded as being ‘deviant’
Life outside the family is devalued, therefore reinforcing a limited range of options available to people