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Balls attacks Tory family plans Tory marriage tax breaks attacked
(about 4 hours later)
Conservative proposals for tax breaks for married couples are "unfair" and amount to "social engineering", Schools Secretary Ed Balls has said. Conservative plans for tax breaks for married couples have come under fire from both Labour and the Lib Dems.
He told the Sunday Telegraph favouring married couples over those who are unmarried could stigmatise children. Tory leader David Cameron restated his commitment to the policy in a newspaper interview saying: "A stable home is the best start a child can get".
It comes ahead of the government's Families Green Paper this week, which will say services should support "the modern family in all shapes and sizes". But Communities Secretary John Denham said it was "not the right way to use public money".
Tory leader David Cameron has restated plans to back marriage through taxes. Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg said was an expensive "bribe" that would prove unfair to many good parents.
The Conservatives have been setting out plans to help families "who are not functioning properly" develop parenting skills and are planning to draw up their own families policy. Family policy is shaping up to be one of the key battlegrounds at the general election as the parties clash over how best to spend increasingly scarce government resources.
In an interview with the Mail on Sunday, Mr Cameron renewed his pledge for a married couples' tax break. Stable relationships
He told the newspaper that "a stable home is the best start a child can get". David Cameron has been under pressure to spell out when and how he would begin to recognise marriage in the tax system if he wins power, after Labour claimed the policy was in disarray.
'Key phrase' What does is mean for the poor woman who has been left by some philandering husband who goes on to another marriage and gets the tax break and she doesn't? Nick Clegg, Lib Dem leader
However, how and when the policy would be introduced remains unclear. The Tories had planned a transferable tax allowance, but have now conceded that will be affordable.
In an interview with the Sunday Telegraph, Mr Balls said he believes marriage is the best way to bring up children. But in an interview with the Mail on Sunday, David Cameron said he remained committed to tax breaks for married couples.
However, he said trying to socially engineer family life through tax policy is "hugely expensive and unfair". He said he would also "end the couple penalty in the tax credits system which, unbelievably, encourages parents to live apart".
BBC political correspondent Reeta Chakrabarti said the reference to the "modern family in all shapes and sizes" was a "key phrase" for Mr Balls, who she described as "a supporter of clear dividing lines between Labour and the Tories". The Conservatives have also been setting out plans to help families "who are not functioning properly" develop parenting skills.
The schools secretary recently said stable relationships are more important than the "family's structure", adding that fathers need support in playing a bigger role in families. Labour has attempted to change its tone on marriage - after previously saying stable relationships were what mattered, whether couples are married or not.
Emotional well-being In an interview with the Sunday Telegraph, Schools Secretary Ed Balls said he believes marriage is the best way to bring up children.
Plans to be set out in the Families Green Paper will propose better advice and information for couples and address the balance between work and childcare by considering ways to make public services more "family friendly". But he said trying to socially engineer family life through tax policy is "hugely expensive and unfair".
There will also be targeted support for groups with particular needs, such as very young parents and parents of disabled children. He said favouring married couples over those who are unmarried could stigmatise children.
Under the Green Paper, new fathers will be given a manual to help them adjust to the role. 'Supportive fathers'
The "dads' guide", put together by the Fatherhood Institute, will include an explanation of breast­feeding and tips on how to support their partner. He was backed up by Communities Secretary John Denham, who told Sky News: "I am not sure we should be using taxpayers' money to reward marriage and the institution."
Last year, the government gave extra money to the counselling service Relate and will unveil plans for more support for fathers and grandparents later this week. Mr Denham said he was divorced, but that did not mean his children suffered.
Three leading relationship organisations - Relate, One Plus One and The Tavistock Centre for Couple Relationships - recently warned politicians that relationships between adults should be centre-stage in setting policy. Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg also criticised the Conservative plans in an interview with BBC One's Andrew Marr show.
Family relationship problems were often the root of difficulties with children's achievement at school and emotional well-being, they said. He said: "David Cameron is plain wrong, totally wrong, to say that we, the country, should spend billions of pounds providing a tax bribe for people simply to hold up a marriage certificate.
Research from the government-funded Family and Parenting Institute recently forecast the death of the nuclear family, saying there was no longer one predominant structure. "It is immensely unfair. What does is mean for the poor woman who has been left by some philandering husband who goes on to another marriage and gets the tax break and she doesn't?"
It found that 45% of babies are now born outside of marriage - and increasing rates of divorce, re-marriage and co-habitation mean that one in 10 families with children are now step-families. The Lib Dems propose allowing mothers and fathers to share 19 months of parental leave in a bid to get fathers more involved in children's early development.
The row comes ahead of the government's Families Green Paper this week, which will say services should support "the modern family in all shapes and sizes".