Changing Employment Rights is start of the debate about how to support working families

Responding to Patricia Hewitt’s comments in the FT today (20 Sept 2004) about how Labour’s next manifesto will focus on developing policies to support families the UK’s largest relationship and family charity Relate said:

’Creating new employment arrangements to include longer maternity leave and higher paternity pay is only the beginning of the debate of how to support parents and ’hard working families’ in a complex, demanding age.

Head of Policy Cherlyl Turner said Relate warmly welcome the Dti Minister’s announcement today that Labour’s next manifesto will focus heavily on improving maternity and paternity rights. But, our view at Relate is that the obstacles to the wellbeing of families and children is not the lack of paid parental leave, although hugely welcome, but the fundamental lack of support, services and advice to parents so they can improve and develop new relationship and parenting skills. Without this the healthy wellbeing of families and children is jeopardised. A glimpse of ordinary life would tell Minister’s that although offering more time at home with children is crucial that time could also be spent supporting parents, especially first time ones, to become stronger more resilient families therefore avoiding stress and at worst break-up when changes and strain occur further down the line.

The new needs and interests of children and families in a complex world often requires the teaching of new parenting and relationship skills and policy has to reflect this as a whole. Without it relationships can flounder under everyday strain and family breakdown becomes inevitable. One of the key challenges Government face when supporting as they say hard working families is to ensure their policies see this wider picture.

Relate is exhibiting at all political conferences with a message that behavioural problems such as anti social behaviour, truancy and emotional problems in young people can be tackled through the building of new parenting and relationships skills to deal with the modern age.

The charity believes policies focused on building stronger families, relationships and parenting skills to address growing anxiety among younger generations should be central to any manifesto debates.