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Research And Policy News

Current research and policy news from Government departments, research centres, publishers, and relationships and family organisations, along with links to further information.

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March 2006

31 March 2006

Increased take-up of maternity and paternity leave

A new survey of 2504 families carried out for the Department of trade and Industry and the Department of Work and Pensions by the Policy Studies Institute showed that the increases in maternity leave and pay introduced since the last survey in 2002 have been matched by increased take-up of leave, up from 4 to 6 months on average. Mothers in 2005 found fewer obstacles and greater flexibility assisting their return, including more part-time work.Fathers took more leave than previously around the birth of their child and also reported more chances to work flexibly.

31 March 2006

Women still see one-night stands as immoral

Women still see one-night stands as wrong, even if they have had such experience themselves. This was the perspective of a sample of women interviewed for a study carried out by Sharron Hinchliff and colleagues from the University of Sheffield. The researchers found that although participants did not condemn women for having one-night stands, for some had done so themselves, they still thought one-night stands were immoral.

31 March 2006

New research reveals culture change for working parents

New, independent research - 'Maternity and Paternity Rights and Benefits: Survey of Parents 2005 - has been published by the Government today.The survey assessed the impact of the legislative changes to mothers' and fathers' rights and benefits introduced since 2002, when the last survey was conducted. According to the study, parents are taking more time off to be with their new-born babies and are benefiting from flexible working arrangements to help them balance their home and work lives while they have young children.

30 March 2006

Parents' use, views and experiences of Early Years Services

A new study from the Department for Education and Skills - Childcare and Early Years Provision: A Study of Parents' Use, Views and Experience - aims to provide up-to-date information on parents' experiences of childcare and early years provision. Just under 8,000 parents in England, randomly selected from Child Benefit records, were interviewed between September 2004 and early January 2005.

29 March 2006

New funding for victims of rape and domestic violence

Victims of domestic and sexual violence will be better supported due to £2.5 million in new funding announced today by Baroness Scotland QC, Minister of State for Criminal Justice and Offender Management, at the National Domestic Violence Conference. The funding is part of the Government's ongoing work to reduce gender-based violence and ensure the needs of victims are met at every stage of the criminal justice process.

29 March 2006

Births increase in 2004

New figures released today by the Office for National Statistics show that there has been an increase of 2.9 percent in the number of births in the past year. In 2003 there were 621,469, compared to 639,721 live births registered in England and Wales in 2004. This was the highest number of births since 1997.

28 March 2006

2005 Birth Statistics from Northern Ireland

Provisional vital statistics for 2005 released today by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA). In 2005, there were 22,328 births registered to mothers resident in Northern Ireland. This is a marginal increase on the 2004 figure of 22,318 births. However the number of births registered in 2005 is 19 per cent below the 1985 figure of 27,427 births.

27 March 2006

New book from The Institute for the Study of Civil Society

According to a new international comparison of family policy published by The Institute for the Study of Civil Society (Civitas), the family thrives in countries in which the government doesn't interfere with it. The new book - Family Policy, Family Changes - by Patricia Morgan compares the state of the family in secular Sweden, Catholic Italy and Britain.

23 March 2006

Next steps for the Mental Health Act

Health Minister Rosie Winterton today announced a new approach to overhaul mental health law as she and Home Office Minister Fiona Mactaggart outlined proposals for a Bill to amend the existing Mental Health Act. The new Bill, which will be shorter than the draft Mental Health Bill 2004, will bring the Act into line with the Civil Partnership Act 2004 in relation to the Nearest Relative provision. It will also address safeguards for children treated on the basis of parental consent through the Children Act 1989.

23 March 2006

Impact of legal problems on people's lives

More than half of civil legal problems lead to adverse outcomes such as ill-health, unemployment and homelessness, according to a study released today by the Legal Services Research Centre (LSRC).The research paper - Causes of Action - highlights how solving civil legal problems can reduce demand on other public services when problems are addressed early. ‘Family’ problems (domestic violence, divorce, relationship and children issues) are amongst the three principal and distinct problem clusters identified in the study. Clustering of problems occurs when there is a tendency for particular problems to be experienced simultaneously or in sequence by the same person.

23 March 2006

Helping vulnerable people resolve their problems

According to a report published by the Department for Constitutional Affairs today, better co-ordinated delivery of advice could help resolve disputes about debt, housing, employment and other matters earlier and more effectively. The report- Getting Earlier, Better Advice To Vulnerable People - sets out a programme for co-ordinating and enhancing the role of independent advice across central and local Government, and for using feedback from the process to help improve public services.

23 March 2006

New report points to rise in women in work

Women's employment has increased from a rate of 56 per cent in 1971 to 70 per cent in 2005. This equates to 4 million more women in work over the last 35 or so years. Some of this increase has been driven by the rise in working mothers. These are among the figures highlighted in Labour Market Review 2006, a new report from the Office for National Statistics

21 March 2006

An investigation of Child Support Agency payment

Findings from Department of Work and Pensions research investigating the potential suitability of private maintenance payments for current Child Support Agency (CSA) clients is published today. The research study examined the extent to which Maintenance Direct, where the non-resident parent (NRP) makes payments to the parent with care (PWC) directly may be appropriate for CSA clients and the influences and experiences that may impact upon parental decisions to adopt such a payment method.

17 March 2006

Reinforcing parental responsibility

Schools Minister Jacqui Smith announced today that parents will get extra help in tackling their children's poor behaviour or attendance at school, and encouraged to play a more effective role in supporting their teachers. Trials of Parent Support Advisers to give one-to-one support to parents needing extra help will start in some 600 primary and sec

16 March 2006

Forced Marriage Unit launches information campaign

The joint Home Office and Foreign and Commonwealth Office Forced Marriage Unit (FMU) today launched a national publicity campaign on forced marriage. The campaign will involve a series of radio and press adverts, TV fillers and poster campaigns and it aims to increase awareness of the issues surrounding forced marriage.

14 March 2006

Married and cohabiting households projected to fall

The number of married couple households is projected to fall quickly over the 23 years, according to new figures released today. This is partly offset by an increase in cohabiting couple households, but the number of married / cohabiting households is still projected to fall from around 55% of all households in 2003 to 47% in 2026. Overall, the number of households in England is projected to increase from 20.9 million in 2003 to 25.7 million by 2026, an annual growth of 209,000.

14 March 2006

New campaign tackles issue of consent in rape cases

Home Office Minister Fiona Mactaggart today launched a Government advertising campaign focusing on the issue of consent in rape cases. The campaign, which will run until the end of April, will make clear the consequences of not ensuring you have the other person's consent before having sex.

13 March 2006

Ending discrimination on basis of sexuality

Outlawing discrimination by pubs, hotels and restaurants to gay and lesbian customers is at the heart of a DTI consultation published today.The Government announced last year that would make regulations in 2006 under the Equality Act to ban discrimination based on sexuality in the provision of goods, facilities and services. Views that are being sought include whether or not exceptions should be provided in a few specific areas such as to allow sexual health clinics for gay men or lesbians to continue to target their services to these groups.

13 March 2006

New publication from the Equal Opportunities Commission

A new report - Sex equality and the modern family: the new political battleground - has been published by the EOC. The research, commissioned to ICM and Ipsos-Mori by the EOC, investigates how achieving a better balance between work and family life, support for parents and carers and the question of pension reform are moving up the political agenda.

13 March 2006

New research reports from the Institute for Social and Economic Research

A new research report- ‘Glass Ceilings’ and ‘Sticky Floors’: New evidence on the gender pay gap' - by the ISER shows that women’s pay is still lagging behind that of men – by between 12% and 23% across the countries of Western Europe. The study, led by Dr Mark Bryan and Professors Wiji Arulampalam and Alison Booth, also reveals that there are larger differences at both the top and bottom of the pay scale, so that both high-and low-paid women are doing even worse compared with their male counterparts than is suggested by the average gap. Read more here http://www.iser.essex.ac.uk/press/releases/releases/2006/2006-03.php According to new ISER research by Chiara Pronzato - Mothers Returning to Work After Childbirth: Contrasting European Experiences -across Western Europe, just 25% of mothers return to work before their child is a year old. However, as the child gets older, things are dramatically different across countries: in the UK, 50% of mothers are already working by the time the child is 2 years old; but in Ireland this does not happen until the child is 3 and in Italy not until the child is 4. Read more here http://www.iser.essex.ac.uk/press/releases/releases/2006/2006-04.php New ISER research by Helmut Rainer and Thomas Siedler - Family Structure and the Needs of Elderly Parents: the impact on mobility and job prospects - looks at how parental care responsibilities and family structure interact in affecting adult children’s patterns of geographical mobility. The study found that having a brother or sister makes people more likely to move away from the home region than someone who is an only child. People with siblings are also likely to do better in the labour market.

09 March 2006

Households Below Average Income statistics

The Households Below Average Income (HBAI) statistical report, from the Department for Work and Pensions, for the period 1994/5- 2004/05 is published today. National Statistics provide key findings from the report. Read more here http://www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/hbai/hbai2005/first_release_0405.pdf The Department for Work and Pensions has published a new report, Making a difference Tackling poverty – a progress report.

08 March 2006

£115M funds will go directly to young people

Young people from 13 to 19 will have responsibility for deciding how a £115m fund is spent, Children's Minister Beverley Hughes announced today.

08 March 2006

International Women's Day

Minister for Women, Tessa Jowell, will today speak about two important issues to women, at two separate events to mark International Women's Day.

08 March 2006

Consulation on paternity leave

The Department of Trade and Industry has published today a consultation on paternity leave and pay that focuses on giving working parents the right to choose who cares for a child in the first year of life.

08 March 2006

Overcrowding and the impact on children

Housing Minister Yvette Cooper today announced an increase in social housing for families in London as part of a new programme of work to address the problem of overcrowding and impact on children.

07 March 2006

Helping lone parents to stay in work

One Parent Families launches Family Fortunes - a package to help lone parents stay in work

07 March 2006

Funding for children and young people in Northern Ireland

Children and young people in Northern Ireland are to receive 61 million over the next 2 years to help them get the best start in life, Peter Hain, Secretary of State, announced.

07 March 2006

New guidance for children's services

Changes to the way children’s, young people’s and maternity services are commissioned in children's trusts were announced today. Children’s Minister Beverley Hughes and Care Services Minister Liam Byrne announced the publication of a new guide to joint planning and commissioning.

05 March 2006

New publication from the Centre for Policy Studies

A new report - The Nationalisation of Childhood - published today by the CPS analyses the full scope of the Government’s agenda for children and its impact on the relationship between parents, children and the state

03 March 2006

Nottingham City Parenting Fund project

Nottingham City Parenting project is helping parents who have a child with an autistic spectrum disorder.

03 March 2006

New study on the well-being of older people

A new study -The material resources and well-being of older people- published by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation used a range of data from England, Scotland and Wales to examine the material resources and financial satisfaction of older people. It found that marital status was related to levels of material resources and financial satisfaction and that those who were currently married were more likely to have higher levels of material resources than all other groups.

02 March 2006

Take-up of tax credits

According new research published by the Government take up of tax credits is higher than for any previous system of financial support for families.

02 March 2006

Child trust fund: latest figures

72% of the earliest vouchers issued have so far been used by parents to open a Child Trust Fund account and nearly 1.5 million Child Trust Fund accounts have been opened in total, Economic Secretary to the Treasury Ivan Lewis announced today.

02 March 2006

Involving children and young people in policy making

The Department for Consitutional Affairs publishes an annual action plan that covers their work to involve young people in policy making. This is part of the Department for Education and Skills learning to listen strategy.

02 March 2006

New findings on in-court conciliation

New research, Making contact happen or making contact work? The process and outcomes of in-court conciliation, published by the Department for Constitutional Affairs, presents the findings from a study that aimed to identify the effectiveness of three different models of in-court conciliation.

02 March 2006

Second Reading of the Children and Adoption Bill

Today in the House of Commons Beverly Hughes introduced the Second Reading of the Children and Adoption BIll. The provisions of the Bill aim to deal with separating families who turn to the courts for help in resolving arrangements for contact with children.

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