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10 December 2010
Last updated at 10:12 ET
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David Cameron says families are "the building blocks of a strong, cohesive society"
The government has a role to play in promoting strong families, David Cameron has argued in a speech.
"Troubled" families should not be abandoned and people should not "shy away" from discussing the family's contribution to society, he said.
Parents with bad relationships were more likely to have a child in poverty, failing at school and ending up in prison or out of work, he argued.
Students demonstrated outside the venue in Leeds where Mr Cameron spoke.
The coalition continues to be the focus of protests after MPs agreed to raise the level of tuition fees in England to a maximum of £9,000.
Speaking to the family guidance charity Relate, Mr Cameron said that no family should be beyond help and he made a commitment to offer "practical and modern" support to families facing "multiple pressures" such as worklessness, alcohol and drug problems.
'No defeatism' While Labour's legacy in supporting children - through the Sure Start network of centres - was welcome, he said the last government had "shied away from saying anything meaningful about the family as a whole", particularly the relationship between parents.
"Politicians talking about families are often met by a couple of reactions: disapproval and defeatism," he said.
"Disapproval because some people say that government should concentrate on more important matters - that in public policy terms, family matters are a bit fluffy and ephemeral. Defeatism because some say that however important families are, there's little that government can practically do to help.
"I think both are wrong."
He said he was not singling out one type of relationship over another and was aware of the limits of government action.
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A strong family was "defined not by its shape but by the love and support that's in it - and we need to be there for all of them", he said.
He announced that Emma Harrison - the head of welfare-to-work training company A4e - was to lead a pilot scheme to help about 500 families under particular strain by providing a system of regular, personalised support. She is also take on the role of "family champion".
Separately, the Department for Education announced an increase in funding for relationship support and counselling.
It plans to spend £30m over the next four years - a £10m increase on the existing budget - to try to improve support for couples in distress, encouraging couples to take up preventative support and minimise the negative impacts for children when relationships come to an end.
Extra funding will be released as part of reform of local government budgets for family support.
Welfare doubts During this year's election campaign, Mr Cameron said he wanted to recognise marriage in the tax system but specific proposals for a tax break for married couples - criticised at the time by the Liberal Democrats and Labour - were dropped.
However, Mr Cameron said on Friday he still wanted to "recognise and value the commitment that people make to each other".
Critics have accused the coalition of undermining families through its welfare reforms and its decision to pare back child tax credits and remove child benefit from higher-rate taxpayers from 2013.
"We are glad the government is stressing family relationships and support for families," said Rhian Beynon, head of policy at charity Family Action.
"However, the fact is that government welfare policies are working against strong families. Welfare caps will hurt large families, housing benefit cuts will damage family stability and slashing working tax credits and childcare support for families in work will push families into poverty.
"In our experience families are best helped back to work when they get support with establishing the foundations of family life. For a lot of the vulnerable families we work with that support needs to start in the home."
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Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.David Cameron says families are "the building blocks of a strong, cohesive society"
The government has a role to play in promoting strong families, David Cameron has argued in a speech.
"Troubled" families should not be abandoned and people should not "shy away" from discussing the family's contribution to society, he said.
Parents with bad relationships were more likely to have a child in poverty, failing at school and ending up in prison or out of work, he argued.
Students demonstrated outside the venue in Leeds where Mr Cameron spoke.
The coalition continues to be the focus of protests after MPs agreed to raise the level of tuition fees in England to a maximum of £9,000.
Speaking to the family guidance charity Relate, Mr Cameron said that no family should be beyond help and he made a commitment to offer "practical and modern" support to families facing "multiple pressures" such as worklessness, alcohol and drug problems.
'No defeatism' While Labour's legacy in supporting children - through the Sure Start network of centres - was welcome, he said the last government had "shied away from saying anything meaningful about the family as a whole", particularly the relationship between parents.
"Politicians talking about families are often met by a couple of reactions: disapproval and defeatism," he said.
"Disapproval because some people say that government should concentrate on more important matters - that in public policy terms, family matters are a bit fluffy and ephemeral. Defeatism because some say that however important families are, there's little that government can practically do to help.
"I think both are wrong."
He said he was not singling out one type of relationship over another and was aware of the limits of government action.
Continue reading the main story “Start Quote
The fact is that government welfare policies are working against strong families”
End Quote
Rhian Beynon
Family Action
A strong family was "defined not by its shape but by the love and support that's in it - and we need to be there for all of them", he said.
He announced that Emma Harrison - the head of welfare-to-work training company A4e - was to lead a pilot scheme to help about 500 families under particular strain by providing a system of regular, personalised support. She is also take on the role of "family champion".
Separately, the Department for Education announced an increase in funding for relationship support and counselling.
It plans to spend £30m over the next four years - a £10m increase on the existing budget - to try to improve support for couples in distress, encouraging couples to take up preventative support and minimise the negative impacts for children when relationships come to an end.
Extra funding will be released as part of reform of local government budgets for family support.
Welfare doubts During this year's election campaign, Mr Cameron said he wanted to recognise marriage in the tax system but specific proposals for a tax break for married couples - criticised at the time by the Liberal Democrats and Labour - were dropped.
However, Mr Cameron said on Friday he still wanted to "recognise and value the commitment that people make to each other".
Critics have accused the coalition of undermining families through its welfare reforms and its decision to pare back child tax credits and remove child benefit from higher-rate taxpayers from 2013.
"We are glad the government is stressing family relationships and support for families," said Rhian Beynon, head of policy at charity Family Action.
"However, the fact is that government welfare policies are working against strong families. Welfare caps will hurt large families, housing benefit cuts will damage family stability and slashing working tax credits and childcare support for families in work will push families into poverty.
"In our experience families are best helped back to work when they get support with establishing the foundations of family life. For a lot of the vulnerable families we work with that support needs to start in the home."
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