Child Care Solicitors

The Prime Minister has pledged for support for families, including the doubling of government funding for relationship support to £70 million.

Relationship support and counselling for couples will be run by organisations such as Relate, Marriage Care and One Plus One and is expected to help 160,000 couples.

Mr Cameron has also pledged to take action to deal with poor parenting:

“We’ve got to start talking about parenting and taking action to get it right,” the Prime Minister said.

Figures show that families who break up are twice as likely to experience poverty compared with families who stay together.

Strengthening families will be at the heart of the government’s agenda over the next five years – and while the government acknowledges there can be circumstances in which it is right for a couple to split, the funding will provide vital money to those who need it and the opportunity to get support.

Over the next five years, the funding is expected to help at least 300,000 more couples and train more than 10,000 professionals in providing support and preventing relationship breakdown.

The government’s announcement has been welcomed by Relate, which provides relationship counselling to couples and families.

Chief executive of Relate, Chris Sherwood, said:

“We are delighted by today’s announcement of increased funding for relationship support, something that Relate has long been calling for.

“Relationship support can help to reduce family breakdown, which is a key driver of poverty and can result in poor outcomes for children.

“Relationships are under increasing pressure – currently over a million people every year access support from Relate, but this is just the tip of the iceberg and we know many more would benefit from our services.

“This funding could make a real difference to the life chances of thousands of children.”

The Troubled Families initiative was launched in 2012 with the aim of supporting the hardest-to-reach families, by getting parents into work, ending truancy and cutting anti-social behaviour.

The government has pledged to work with a further 400,000 families over the course of this Parliament.
Mr Cameron said:
“In the end, getting parenting and the early years right isn’t just about the hardest-to-reach families – it’s about everyone.

“We all have to work at it – and if you don’t have a strong support network, if you don’t know other mums or dads, having your first child can be enormously isolating.

“Of course they don’t come with a manual – but is it right that all of us get so little guidance?

“We’ve made progress – we’ve dramatically expanded the number of health visitors and that is crucial. But it deals with one particular part of parenting – the first few weeks and months.

“What about later on, when it comes to good play, communication, behaviour and discipline? We all need more help with this – the most important job we’ll ever have,” he added.

Duncan Lewis Children Lawyers

Duncan Lewis children lawyers can advise on a wide range of family and child care matters, including:

• Adoption/international adoption
• Care proceedings
• Child abuse
• Child care arrangements
• Children taken into Local Authority care
• Co-parenting
• Court orders
• Court of Protection
• FGM
• Forced marriage
• Guardianship
• International child abduction
• Parental responsibility
• Pre-proceedings meetings
• Section 38 enquiries
• Surrogacy
• Wardship
• Wills and trusts.

There are Duncan Lewis offices nationwide – and Duncan Lewis advises on family and child care law under UK law and Islamic law.

For expert legal advice on child care matters, call Duncan Lewis children lawyers on 0333 772 0409.