Esther Rantzen CBE to Lead a Major New Inquiry Into What Families Need Today

At a time when families need all the help they can get, new figures released today by national charity 4Children reveal that 50% of Britons feel that family life is harder today than it was 20 years ago. The same survey also showed that a further 49% of Britons only see extended family members (including grandparents) twice a year or less and as such are cut adrift from family support in times of difficulty.

The figures, which shatter the illusion that families come together in times of financial hardship, are being released at the launch of a ground breaking national inquiry led by 4Children. The Family Commission – Happy Families for Today and Tomorrow, chaired by Esther Rantzen CBE will explore the big issues surrounding the extended family and the support it needs in the 21st century. It aims to talk to over 10,000 families around the country, creating one of the largest conversations ever undertaken.

New figures released today by 4Children reveal:

• 50% say family life is harder today than it was over 20 years ago.
• 49% see extended family members just twice a year or less frequently -- 30% see extended family members either once a year or less frequently.
• 22% feel tight finances are the biggest threat to family life.
• 28% of respondents with parents and children feel torn between caring for their parents and children.
• 27% think families’ most urgent need is for advice and guidance (traditionally provided by relatives) above other forms of state benefits.
• 61% think that families with elderly relatives do not get enough help from Government, followed closely by 50% who think that families with disabled relatives do not get enough help from Government.

Esther Rantzen CBE, Chair of The Family Commission said:  “For more than twenty years I have heard the children who ring ChildLine tell us that family life is crucial to their happiness, and their greatest sorrow is when those relationships which mean so much to them are broken or disrupted.

“My generation has watched family life change beyond recognition over recent decades. These new figures show just how hard family life has become with 50% of people unable to rely on families for help and left to muddle through difficult times alone. The Family Commission aims to untangle some of the complex realities of families in the UK and will explore what can be done to support and help families in need.

“I am delighted to be involved as Chair of the Family Commission. It is a huge privilege and responsibility to listen to the views of families everywhere, and ensure their voices are heard by decision makers at the highest level.”

Anne Longfield OBE, Chief Executive of 4Children said: “The Family Commission comes at a time when the world for families is full of opportunity but also challenge. With a growing recognition that family circumstances have a dramatic impact on the outcomes and life chances of children, this study is searching for solutions. We know that the economic climate is creating real worry and hardship for many. Through The Family Commission, families will design their own solutions. Our challenge to all of us is to respond.”

The Family Commission – Happy Families for Today and Tomorrow will be launched on Wednesday 1 April 2009. A press conference with Esther Rantzen CBE and Anne Longfield OBE will take place on Tuesday 31st March at 10.00am (venue tbc). To reserve your place, please contact Julie Watkins on 0207 522 6928 / 07917870641 or email Julie.Watkins@4Children.org.uk.


For more information on The Family Commission visit: www.thefamilycommission.org.uk.

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Notes to the Editor

- For further information contact Julie Watkins on 0207 522 6928 / 07917870641/ Julie.Watkins@4Children.org.uk or Geethika Jayatilaka on 0779 596 4576

- All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 2114 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between the 20th and the 23rd of March 2009. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all UK adults (aged 18+).

4Children
4Children is the national charity all about children and families. It aspires to ensure that all children, young people and families have access to a creative, safe and child focused environment, and activities. For more information see www.4Children.org.uk.

Poll Findings
Further findings from the YouGov survey commissioned by 4Children revealed:

-Seeing extended family members (including grandparents)
Just 3% saw extended family members on a daily basis.
10% saw extended family members yearly.
20% saw extended family members less that once a year.

-Biggest threat to family life in the UK
34% thought relationship breakdowns was the biggest threat to families in the UK. 45% of respondents in Wales thought relationship breakdown was the biggest threat to families in the UK.
30% of respondents in London said that fast pace of life and long working hours was the biggest threat to families in the UK.
11% thought children growing up too fast was the biggest threat to family life in the UK.

• The Family Commission – Happy Families for Today and Tomorrow is a major 18 month inquiry into the extended family in the 21st Century. It aims to untangle some of the complex realities of families in the UK, to understand how families manage in the changing world, what the state can and should be doing to help them do so, and to explore some of the tensions which people still feel. It will seek to identify key aspects of support needed – from housing, financial support, child and eldercare, and social services.

• The Family Commission draws together academics, industrialists, media representatives, policy makers and specialists who will examine the future of needs of families and recommend solutions going forward.

• The Family Commission will be travelling the country encouraging people to submit their views to us. These will be taken in writing, electronically or verbally.  A major report with far reaching recommendations will be published in autumn 2010 aiming to create a blueprint for family support for the UK for decades to come.

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Family Statistics
Families in Britain: an evidence paper, December 2008, revealed the following statistics.

The full report can be downloaded from http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/media/111945/families_in_britain.pdf  

• The average household size fell from 2.9 persons per household in 1971 to 2.4 in 2006.

• Marriages in England and Wales fell by 4% in 2006 to 236,980: the lowest number of marriages since 1895.

• Divorces in the EU have near quadrupled since 1960. However the 2007 UK divorce rate was 11.9 divorcing people per 1,000 married population: its lowest since 1981.

• The percentage of working age people cohabiting increased from 2% in the 1970s to over 10% in the late 1990s. Cohabiting couple families made up 9% of all families in 1971 and 14% of families in 2006.

• Step families are one of the fastest growing family forms in the UK. In 2005, 10% of families with dependent children were step-families.

• Births outside marriage have gone up from about 10% in the 1970s to over 40% in the 2000.

• Since the 1980s, the proportion of children being born to older mothers has increased as women delay having children until later in life.

• The 2006 under-18 conception rate for England of 40.4 per 1000 girls aged 15-17 represents an overall decline of 13.3% since 1998. However teenage pregnancy rates in Britain remain among the highest across developed countries.

• In 2007 the proportion of lone parents as heads of households (12 per cent) was treble that of 1971 (4 per cent).

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