Topic 2: Families & Social Policy Flashcards

Question

Evaluating the Labour governments 1997-2010

Answer 1

Strengths: Advocated social liberalism and an interventionist approach (unlike the NR) Major shift away from family policies favouring the traditional nuclear family and promoted gender equality Aimed to cut child poverty and redistribute income to the poor Weaknesses: They did attempt to support AND control family life (eg Sure Start + 1998 Supporting Families Green Paper) = so in a way, they did prefer children to live with their parents and therefore reduce their reliance upon benefits and the state Some would criticise the New Labour governments for not going further. The Civil Partnership Act missed the opportunity to bring about true equality and introduce gay marriage (introduced by the coalition government 9 years later)

Answer 2

Conservatives (David Cameron) had to form a coalition with the Liberal Democrats in order to get their legislation through Conservatives (traditionalists) had a mixture of maintaining the New Right approach with more modern attitudes, whereas the Liberal Democrats (modernisers) tended to have a more liberal approach, accepting alternative family types This meant it was hard to maintain a consistent policy line on the family

Answer 3

Removing the couples’ penalty was an approach to ensuring that the benefits system did not include a perverse incentive for couples to break up in order to receive more benefits 2011 - £450 billion programme targeting 120,000 problem families - CONTROL rather than SUPPORT Significant cuts to Sure Start Centres 2015 = tax break for married couples and civil partners = favoured the NF 2017 = government withdrew child benefit from new claimants for third/additional children = designed to discourage benefit-reliant families from having children they couldn’t afford to support

Answer 4

Childcare policies from 2010-2017 gave addition support to families where BOTH partners worked Equality Act 2010 = legally protects people from discrimination in the workplace and in wider society Same sex marriage legalised 2014 2015 - parental leave = shared between both partners rather than just the woman

Answer 5

Strengths: Coalition policies only matched the conservative rhetoric to an extent, and did move towards greater social liberalism compared to past conservative governments Weaknesses: They were more interested in saving money than a desire to promote/discourage traditional family norms (austerity policies) = these policies hit the finances of most families and households

Answer 6

Morgan argues that social policies have encouraged lone parenthood for those of low income. She states that there has been a war between the state and the family which has been very damaging to family life: 1. Abolishing marriage - tax and benefits have been changed to remove any advantages for married couples 2. Divorce and lone parents - divorce easier since 1960s. Benefits system also geared towards supporting lone parents better than two parent families on low income 3. The state as breadwinner - as a result, the state has become the breadwinner rather than the men of the house. Benefits system has made it increasingly likely that lone parents rely upon benefits. People ‘faking it’ - living together but pretending to live apart to obtain benefits 4. The state as child carer - New Labour government established the lone mother family type as the BASIC family type - the state funded childcare to mothers didn’t need the support of a breadwinner

Answer 7

Feminists argue that policies tend to favour the traditional NF in which there are 2 parents: a male breadwinner and a woman staying at home HOW? 1. School hours and long school holidays = hard for parents to both work full time - mother will stay home 2. Care of relatives = seen as female responsibility. Cut in spending + social care by 11% per adult under the Coalition and Conservative governments 3. Benefits cuts = more people living at home = more pressure on mother 4. 2015 tax break only for married couples = favoured the NF

Answer 8

There was a big move away from New Right approaches towards a more liberalist approach But many policies still favour the NF

Answer 9

1. Increased cohabitation and delayed marriage: - career aspirations of women mean that marriage is delayed - contraception and legislation of abortion - delay having children (Equal pay act / sex discrimination act) 2. Increased divorce: - divorce reform has led to increase in breakdown of traditional family unit - more lone parent families, lone-person households and more reconstituted families (Divorce reform act / child tax credits) 3. Same sex families: - decriminalisation of homosexuality. Introduction of civil partnerships and same sex marriage - changes to legislation to adoption (Adoption and children’s act 2002 / same sex marriage legalised in 2014) 4. More lone-parent families: - welfare state provides protections for lone parent families (2001 new deal / child support agency)

Answer 10

Maternity and paternity leave: - radical fem - 9 months paid maternity leave reinforces the expressive role for women - lib fem - shared parental leave 2015 allows women to return to work = emphasises shared responsibility Increased divorce and negotiated family: - gender roles more equal in a negotiated family - men are more involved in domestic labour and childcare - women contribute to family income Availability of childcare: - opportunities such as 30 hour free childcare remove social expectation of women to stop working - sure start centres provide dad and baby clubs to help men bond more with their children Increased career opportunities: - gender roles have become more equal as a result of women’s employment (equal pay act and sex discrimination act)