David Willetts, the Shadow Cabinet member with responsibility for family policy, has launched the family section of the Conservative Party's Draft Manifesto.
"We can’t go on ignoring the importance of strong families", he said. "They provide the stability, warmth and love we need to flourish as human beings, and the relationships they foster are the bedrock on which society is built."
The section outlines plans to make Britain more family-friendly by:
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Reforming the tax and benefits system to help families
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Taking a new approach to early intervention
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Helping families to balance their lives
Willetts said that it outlined "a comprehensive approach to encourage stability and tackle social breakdown – a new system of flexible parental leave which lets parents share maternity leave, more health visitors to support new parents, and encouraging commitment by recognising marriage in the tax system".
He added that the Government’s recent green paper - its first on families since 1998 - "fails to confront the big issues" and "does not match the scale of change that is needed to support families and mend Britain’s broken society".
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