Reform Bulletin

14 May 2008

Bulletin - 14 May 2008

Is Britain forgetting how to parent?

Chris Grayling MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for Reform

Chris Grayling, the Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, today spoke for Reform on parenting and social mobility. He argued that the absence of effective parenting is a core reason for a culture of dependency in deprived communities. He concluded that the role of government in solving the problem was limited. Instead the voluntary sector should take the lead.

His key points were:

- “In too many parts of our society, responsible parenting and good parenting experience is disappearing …. It can’t be explained simply by economic deprivation.... A culture of dependency is being passed on from patent to child, a culture becoming deeply ingrained in many of our most deprived communities.”

- “Let’s recognize the limits of politics. You can’t just pass laws instructing parents to be good at their job. That doesn’t mean that the State is impotent but that cash transfers alone cannot get rid of poverty.”

Chris Grayling proposed four solutions:

- “End the blight of generational worklessness” through reform of benefit administration.

- “Zero tolerance of truancy”, in particular through “early intervention” for children from “difficult backgrounds”.

- “End the couple penalty in the tax credits system”.

- “Recognise the limitations of politicians, and place more responsibility in the hands of local communities and the voluntary sector.”

The full speech is available at www.reform.co.uk.

Reform’s April report on social mobility is available here.

A full list of Reform’s forthcoming events is available at www.reform.co.uk.