Since entering the House of Lords in 2014, I have collaborated with over 60 MPs and other peers to support the Government in developing and delivering policies to strengthen families, including the Troubled (now Supporting) Families and Reducing Parental Conflict programmes. Our Manifesto to Strengthen Families can be read here.
This has meant pushing the Government to, for example:
- appoint a cabinet-level minister to coordinate policy across every department of government;
- champion family hubs;
- reform the tax system so that it recognises parental responsibilities;
- ensure prisoners and offenders in the community are able to maintain supportive family and other relationships to prevent reoffending and intergenerational crime;
- put family breakdown measures and family impact assessments on a statutory footing;
- support grandparents who are in danger of losing contact with their grandchildren;
- adopt a preventive approach to the scourge of domestic abuse.
Family law is not a neutral bystander and I have challenged the Government about the effect of its introduction of ‘no fault divorce’ (£) on marriage and divorce rates and the need for better support for separating parents.