Cameron unveils ‘family test’ for government policy
David Cameron has announced that government policy will soon be subject to a "family test".
Every domestic policy will now be required to examine its impact on the family, as well as cost-effectiveness and environmental impact. Speaking to BBC Breakfast, the Prime Minister said the government would "help people who come together stay together".
Cameron argued that parents and children were often overlooked by government policy making and were sometimes made worse off by reform.
In a speech given at Royal College of GPs, Cameron told the audience: "I want every government department to be held to account for the impact of their policies on the family".
In terms of practical policy, the budget for relationship counselling through Relate is to be doubled to £19.5m and the programme for so-called "problem families" will be expanded. Furthermore, councils will be allowed to apply for assistance from a £19m fund to help facilitate adoption.
"Whether it's the benefits system incentivising couples to live apart or penalising those who go out to work or whether it's excessive bureaucracy preventing loving couples from adopting children with no family at all.
"We can't go on having government taking decisions like this which ignore the impact on the family", Cameron said.
The extension of the programme to intervene into troubled families, which was established after riots flared up across the English cities in 2011, means 500,000 families will now be targeted, quadruple the original number.
Cameron was keen to emphasise his commitment to family values as a central characteristic of his political philosophy: "For me, nothing matters more than family. It's at the centre of my life and the heart of my politics".
The programme will work with the 50 local authorities that have been deemed the most successful.