Social Policy & Family

Question 1

1967 Abortion Act

Answer 1

Legalised abortion in UK and made it available through NHS

Question 2

1967 Sexual Offences Act

Answer 2

Partially decriminalised male homosexuality in England and Wales - age of consent set at 21

Question 3

1969 Divorce Reform Act

Answer 3

• Reduced previously high cost of divorce
• Made legal process of getting a divorce much more simple through the ‘irretrievable breakdown’ clause

Question 4

1970 Equal Pay Act

Answer 4

Made it illegal for employers to pay women less than men employed in the same jobs - ‘encouraged’ women, expecially mothers, to enter workforce in large numbers

Question 5

1975 Sex Discrimination Act

Answer 5

Outlawed discrimination against women by employers in the workplace

Question 6

Availability of the Contraceptive pill - 1961

Answer 6

First available on the NHS to married women in 1961

Question 7

Thatcherite/New Right policies (1979-1997)

Children Act 1989

Answer 7

• Clearly outlined rights of children, safeguarded them from harm
• Major emphasis on role of family, less on local services

Question 8

Thatcherite/New Right policies (1979-1997)

Child Support Agency 1993

Answer 8

• Ensured absent fathers paid maintenance for upbringing of children - included chasing down fathers where there was no contact
• Where possible, money to support lone parent families came from absent parents, not the government

Question 9

Thatcherite/New Right policies (1979-1997)

Section 28 1988

Answer 9

• Prevented local government from ‘promoting’ homosexuality
• Schools could not teach ‘the acceptability of homosexuality as a pretended family relationship’
• Govt. went beyond promoting NF to attacking and denying an alternative family structure

Question 10

Thatcherite/New Right policies (1979-1997)

Proposed changes to divorce rules

Answer 10

• Wanted to make divorce more difficult
• Moral panic in 80s that too many British marriages were divorcing
• Plan was enforced ‘cooling off’ period of a year between separation and divorce
• Never put into practice due to opposition and impracticality

Question 11

Socially liberal policies under New Labour (1997-2010)

Child Tax Credit Policy

Answer 11

• Depending on amount of children you had, the amount of tax paid was reduced slightly
• Paid to main carer of child - usually mother
• Morgan (2007) - undermined both marriage and traditional family because it was biased towards single parents, dual career families, and gay people

Question 12

Socially liberal policies under New Labour (1997-2010)

Paid Paternity Leave 2003

Answer 12

Men able to get 2 weeks of paid parental leave

Question 13

Socially liberal policies under New Labour (1997-2010)

Adoption and Children’s Act 2002

Answer 13

• Allowed same sex couples to adopt
• Allowed unmarried heterosexual couples and single people to adopt too
• Other advances in gay rights: equal age of consent in 2001, repeal of Section 28 in 2003

Question 14

Socially liberal policies under New Labour (1997-2010)

Civil Partnership Act 2005

Answer 14

Allowed same sex relationships to be legally recognised on the same terms as marriage - effectively marriage in all but name

Question 15

Socially conservative policies of modern Conservative Party

Removed ‘Couples’ penalty’

Answer 15

Done so that benefits system did not include perverse incentive for couples to break up in order to receive more benefits

Question 16

Socially conservative policies of modern Conservative Party

Troubled Families Programme (TFP)

Answer 16

• After 2011 London riots, many Tories were worried about broken families and the quality of family life
• 2012 - Coalition introduced TFP which identified 120K households involved in crime, anti-social behaviour, truancy, long-term unemployment as a high cost to the state
• Programme was meant to be used to get them back into work or education

Question 17

Socially conservative policies of modern Conservative Party

The proposed Dementia Tax

Answer 17

• Would have forced elderly people with assets (money and housing) worth over £100K to pay for any social care they received as they got older
• Previously, unless you had more than £23K in your bank, you would be entitled to free social care from your council

Question 18

Socially conservative policies of modern Conservative Party

Child Tax Credits restricted to 2 children

Answer 18

• Child tax credits only available for 2 children and equivalent for those on universal credit
• Some have suggested this is designed to change behaviour and discourage those on low incomes from having too many kids - clearly also a cost saving measure

Question 19

Socially conservative policies of modern Conservative Party

Free School Meals

Answer 19

• During the Covid 19 pandemic, govt. didn’t initially want to fund extra money needed for FSM over summer and winter holidays
• Wouldn’t normally happen, but during COVID, many saw it as obvious that the children of parents who earned less money should be fed
• Govt. eventually went back on this policy and gave in - Marcus Rashford and the unpopularity of this policy

Question 20

Socially liberal policies of the modern Conservative Party

Equal Marriage Act (2013/14)

Answer 20

• 9 years after civil partnership act, coalition brought in same-sex marriage
• Clear support from both parties in the coalition, but opposition from traditionalists on tory backbenches and in religious organisations

Question 21

Socially liberal policies of the modern Conservative Party

Shared Parental Leave

Answer 21

• Both parties in coalition keen for parental leave to be share equally between men and women
• Men no longer given only two weeks where women got an extended period

Question 22

Socially liberal policies of the modern Conservative Party

Married Couples’ Tax Allowance

Answer 22

• Tax allowance for married couples with only one taxpayer
• May look like a return to traditionalist support of NF but supports all married couples and civil partnerships
• Doesn’t matter which member of the family is the breadwinner