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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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June 2006

28 June 2006

Plans to open The Relate Institute

Relate has unveiled plans to open an academic facility in partnership with Doncaster College in the Autumn. The Relate Institute will train relationship counselors, conduct research into family life and will create a new training source for those working in the front line with children and families.

28 June 2006

South Asian women need better support

South Asian women experiencing mental health problems and domestic violence need better support, according to a new report, Oppressed Voices: Understanding the effects of Domestic Violence for South Asian Women in North West Kent, published by the mental health charity Rethink. The research was carried out by South Asian women in Kent for the government's Delivering Race Equality in Mental Health Care strategy.

27 June 2006

Suicide rates for men continue to fall

Suicide rates have fallen for males for the sixth successive year, according to figures published today by the Office for National Statistics, although rates for females have remained at a similar level since 2001. The age-standardised mortality rates for suicide have declined for males since 1998 from 152 per million population to 125 per million population for males in 2004, while those for women have remained at around 41 per million since 2001.

27 June 2006

Welfare-to-work for partners of benefit claimants

New research by the Policy Studies Institute, Work Focused Interviews for Partners and Enhanced New Deal for Partners: Quantitative Impact Assessment, shows that a Government scheme to encourage the stay-at-home partners of benefit claimants to go to work instead, has had some small effects. Two-thirds of these couples had dependent children and it is hoped that the scheme may contribute to the Government-wide effort to reduce child poverty.

26 June 2006

6516 Civil Partnerships by 31 March 2006

Same-sex couples formed 6,516 civil partnerships in England and Wales by 31 March 2006, according to latest figures from the General Register Office. Male couples formed 4,311 civil partnerships and female couples formed 2,205.

26 June 2006

New stakeholder group for 10 year childcare strategy

A new stakeholder group will advise Ministers on the implementation of the Government’s 10-Year Childcare Strategy and wider early years and childcare policy. The new Sure Start, Extended Schools and Child Care Stakeholder Group is chaired by Dame Julie Mellor and consists of members from local authorities, health, the private and voluntary sector and frontline staff.

21 June 2006

Helping parents get on better - new website from One Plus One

Today, the Children's Minister, Rt Hon Beverley Hughes MP, launched One Plus One's new website for parents, The Parent Connection. The website is about the relationship between the parents of a child and how the quality of that relationship matters to their children's well being. There is a wealth of information on parenting and on parent-child relationships but until now very little information on the parental relationship and its impact on children.

20 June 2006

The 'magic moment' - making the most of it for UK families

Welcoming David Cameron's speech on fathers and families at the National Family and Parenting Institute, Penny Mansfield, Director of One Plus One, the UK's leading relationship research organisation said: "The 'magic moment' for supporting families was showcased at our recent lecture Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing - the research findings from the US show the importance of the time around birth - it is a time when both parents are optimistic about their future, are both involved in their child's life and are most receptive to making changes for the better. This and other research shows that helping parents with their relationship at this time can make a huge difference to children and to the family's stability." http://www.oneplusone.org.uk/Information/News/News%20release%20The%20magic%20moment%20_2_.pdf

20 June 2006

One in three families affected by depression

The London School of Economics' Depression Report, suggests that psychological therapy should be made available to all people suffering from depression, chronic anxiety and schizophrenia. This is what the guidelines from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) prescribe, but they are not currently being implemented because the therapy services are not there.

20 June 2006

New child mental health guide

The British Medical Associtation had published a report, Child and adolescent mental health – a guide for healthcare professionals. According to this report, socio economic factors play a significant role, and there is a higher prevalence of mental health problems among children from deprived backgrounds. Looked after children (ie children brought in the care of local authorities) are at particular risk, as are refugee and asylum seeker children, and young offenders.

20 June 2006

Ten steps to modernise mental health

A new drive to modernise mental health services was launched by Health Minister Rosie Winterton. She published a document outlining ten key changes that mental health providers should make to improve quality of care for patients and drive better service efficiency.

20 June 2006

New guide for working parents of disabled children

Work-life balance charity Working Families has published a new guide for parents trying to combine paid work and caring for a disabled child. Based on interviews with the experts - parents who already successfully combine working and caring – Make it work for you looks at why work is so important for parents of disabled children and gives practical advice on how to make the inevitable juggling act work for families.

20 June 2006

Youth in a global world

The Population Reference Bureau (PRB), has published a policy brief, Youth in a Global World, which describes what it's like to grow up in today's world. There is a special focus on four major experiences in the lives of young people: schooling, health, marriage, and childbearing. Written by Rachel Nugent, director of PRB's BRIDGE (Bringing Information to Decision makers for Global Effectiveness) project, this brief highlights changes, cites trends, and suggests ways policies and programs could further improve the lives of today's youth.

20 June 2006

Advocacy kit on youth issues

A new advocacy kit produced by the Population Reference Bureau (PRB) and Advocates for Youth gives advocates the information and tools they need to speak compellingly to policymakers about many of the challenges young people face worldwide. Based on data and conclusions from the National Academies Press book Growing Up Global: The Changing Transition to Adulthood in Developing Countries, the kit provides a wealth of clear and concise data about economic, social, developmental, and health trends for youth—as well as proven policy steps for addressing those trends.

20 June 2006

Fathers take two weeks off for new baby

According to new research from the Equal Opportunities Commission, today’s fathers are spending more time with their new children, but financial and other barriers are preventing many low-income families from sharing care. The report, Dads and the Babies: a household analysis, reveals that the vast majority of fathers are now taking at least two weeks leave around the birth of their child, especially in high income families, but some lower income men still face barriers.

16 June 2006

World Cup advice from Relate

Relate is encouraging couples to engage in a team talk before the World Cup commences to ensure relationships aren’t damaged by World Cup fever. As World Cup Widows and Widowers gear up for a month of football, Relate people offers some advice for non-fans.

14 June 2006

Drive to reduce suicide rates for young men

A new drive to reduce the suicide rates in young men was launched by Health Minister Rosie Winterton. Speaking to mark Men's Mental Health week, she published a report, Reaching Out, outlining the findings of three pilots which have been looking at ways to reduce suicide rates in young men.

14 June 2006

Keeping domestic violence victims safe

New guidance to ensure any lessons following a domestic violence homicide are learnt, and action to protect others at risk is taken, has been published for consultation by Home Office Minister Baroness Scotland. The consultation, Guidance for Domestic Violence Reviews under the Domestic, Crime and Victims Act 2004 will last for three months, closing on 13 September 2006.

13 June 2006

'Dad pack' to be distributed by social services

Father's Direct has published the “Dad Pack”, funded by the Department for Education and Skills.The pack is a dad's guide that covers pregnancy, birth, work, relationships, money, health, benefits, legal rights and responsibilities, plus playing with and praising children. It will be distributed by public services that support families.

13 June 2006

Help with cost of childcare

According to new research from the Institute for Publish Policy Research (ippr) the Government should switch entitlement for financial support with childcare costs from the Working Tax Credit to the Child Tax Credit . It recommends widening help with the cost of childcare to include another 4.7 million families by linking subsidy to Child Tax Credit rather than the Working Tax Credit.

13 June 2006

Transparency in family courts

The Constitutional Affairs Committee released a report calling on the Government to increase transparency in the family courts, where decisions are taken about adoption, residence and contact with children when parents are separating and about removing children from their parents when they are considered to be at risk. The committee proposes that judges would retain power to impose reporting restrictions or exclude members of the public, where necessary, to protect the child and the interest of justice.

09 June 2006

Child poverty in large families

A new Study funded by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, Child poverty in large families, investigates the prevalence and characteristics of poor children in large families in the UK and how we compare with other countries. It also explores how the tax and benefit system has varied by family size over recent years and how this compares with other countries. It discusses how the tax and benefit system might be adapted in favour of large families so that the child poverty target might be achieved.

09 June 2006

Scots want at least 2 children

The 2005 Scottish Social Attitudes survey has been studying the attitudes to having children held by men and women of child-bearing age. Results form the survey show that most Scots of child-bearing age would prefer to have at least two children. No less than 86% say the ideal number of children to have in a family is two or more. More than a third, (36%), would prefer three or more

09 June 2006

National Sure Start Month 2006

Children’s Minister Beverley Hughes launched National Sure Start Month 2006. National Sure Start Month celebrates early years, childcare, health and family services that the Sure Start programme and other groups offer to children and families across England.

08 June 2006

Further measures to combat forced marriage

A summary of responses to the consultation on the criminalisation of forced marriage has been published by the Government's Forced Marriage Unit (FMU), as part of its ongoing programme of work to tackle the issue. The consultation document, Forced Marriage: A Wrong Not a Right, was published in September 2005 and set out the potential advantages and disadvantages of creating a specific criminal offence relating to forced marriage.

05 June 2006

Men's health and masculinity

A new studdy funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and led by Dr Richard de Visser, investigates what young men consider to be masculine behaviour and how this affects their health. The study -Young Men, Masculinity and Health- shows that understanding the desire to appear masculine may hold the potential to reduce such unhealthy behaviour.

02 June 2006

Household projections for Scotland

The General Register Office for Scotland has released the report Household Projections for Scotland, 2004-Based. This report gives forward projections of the number of households in Scotland up to 2024, based on the estimated population of Scotland in mid-2004.

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