Social Justice Policy Group Interim Report On Social Breakdown
Posted by Nadine Dorries, MP for Mid Bedfordshire, at 10:02, Wed 13 December 2006:
Earlier this week I welcomed the publication of the report by the Conservative Party’s Social Justice Policy Group, chaired by Iain Duncan-Smith MP on social breakdown and the importance of the family.
Iain Duncan Smith’s social justice policy group is to be congratulated for producing a powerful report about the breakdown of families and the impact this has upon society. The report demonstrates the clear links that exist between issues such as social and family breakdown, educational failure, indebtedness and drug and alcohol abuse.
The family is the most important institution in Britain; as David Cameron said if we are serious about tackling the causes of poverty and social breakdown then we must look at ways of supporting families and also supporting marriage so that couples are encouraged to get together and stay together.
If you would like to find out more, the Social Justice Policy Group's interim report can be found at http://povertydebate.typepad.com
In summary the main findings of the report include:
Between 1993-4 and 2005-6, Social Security Benefits expenditure increased by £22.7 billion, or £35.5 billion, if tax credits are included. This rise occurred at a time of rising employment and economic stability. The weakening of the welfare society - which delivers welfare beyond the state - is one of the key factors fuelling this increase. The welfare society remains the largest deliverer of care in Britain today, dwarfing the state. Without it the state would be overwhelmed. Yet the welfare society has been breaking down on the margins, and the social fabric of many communities is being stripped away.
Family breakdown, educational failure, economic dependence, indebtedness and addictions are all interrelated. Children from a broken home are twice as likely to have behavioural problems, perform worse at school, become sexually active at a younger age, suffer depression and turn to drugs, smoking and heavy drinking.
A parent who has a serious drug problem or is addicted to alcohol can exhibit very destructive behaviour patterns which can destroy the quality of life for the other parent and children, leading in turn to family breakdown. Furthermore, either because of addictions, or for other reasons, those on low incomes who get into debt find it almost impossible to pay off their debts. One of the main reasons people on low incomes are particularly vulnerable to poverty caused by indebtedness is the appallingly high levels of interest they routinely pay on their loans. In the Group's polling, respondents with a history of drug or alcohol addiction were more than twice as likely to have experienced personal debt than the general population.
Absent fathers exacerbating underachievement is a major problem. In the report this is called 'dadlessness'. The absence of a constructive male figure in children's lives at home is compounded by the fact that fewer primary school children ever encounter a male teacher at school. Instead, their role model is too often a transient father who is unsupportive of the mother and passes on little of value to his child. Too many women and children in these broken homes also suffer from abuse and abused children often turn into abusers themselves as they get older.
The dissolution of cohabiting partnerships is the main driver of lone parent family formation in the UK. Nearly one in two cohabiting parents split up before their child's fifth birthday compared to one in twelve married parents. Three-quarters of family breakdowns affecting young children now involve unmarried parents. A new study commissioned for the policy group looked at family breakdown among 15,000 mothers with three year-olds. Cohabiting parents with young children were more than twice as likely as married parents to split up, regardless of age, income and other socio-economic background factors.
If you have any thoughts, views or concerns on the issues in the report then please get in contact with me in the usual way.
Write to me at: Nadine Dorries MP House of Commons London SW1A 0AA
Telephone me on: 020 7219 4239
Fax me on: 020 7219 6428
Email me at: dorriesn@parliament.uk
Regards
Nadine
Nadine Dorries MP Member of Parliament for Mid-Bedfordshire.
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