The families and relationships green paper

The Government wants to hear your thoughts regarding their recent families and relationships green paper, which we discussed in our January blog.

The paper, called Support for All, sets out a range of measures to support all families, particularly those facing times of stress and difficulty. The proposals recognise that while all families need a little help from time to time, many of you have additional and often complex needs that require further support.

Focusing mainly on enabling families to support themselves, the paper aims to influence those factors that can strengthen or weaken family life. It looks at the options available for balancing work with raising children, the accessibility of public services, and considerations for children following family breakups.

If you want to have a say on these or any of the other issues raised in the paper, you can get involved via , where you will be able to download the full paper or a shorter summary and give your views on the six key questions asked.

The questions are:

1. What more can we do to help create a culture in which seeking help for relationship or parenting problems, or other family difficulties, is considered socially acceptable?

2. Which issues should be prioritized by Government in seeking to strengthen families and support family relationships?

3. Which services need the most urgent development to make them truly family-friendly?

4. Do you consider that compulsory mediation assessment would improve the take-up of mediation in family law cases, and what more could be done to improve the take up of family mediation as an alternative to court action?

5. How far does the need to seek leave of court act as a barrier to preventing family members applying for contact with a child? Is there a need to remove this requirement for some other family members, beyond grandparents? (Note: Parents are already exempt.)

6. Would a comprehensive advice service on family issues based on successful models like NHS Direct and the NHS Carers Direct service make it easier for families to find the help they need? This could consist of a national online service coupled with a single telephone number.

The DCSF is keen to hear from as many parents as possible, so go ahead and let them know your thoughts. The consultation is open until 21 April 2010.