Policy Library

Introduction by Steve Double MP and Baroness Eaton

We welcome this short review of the Government’s Family Test by the Centre for Social Justice.

The Family Test was introduced by David Cameron in 2014 to ensure all government policy making was assessed for its impact on families. The intention at the time was to create a government focused on family by family proofing our policy making process. For many Parliamentarians this remains an important aspiration which is why we were happy to support this review and will be pressing the current Government to ensure the Family Test remains an important part of policy making.

Strengthening family life should always be a priority for governments. Stronger families improve outcomes for children and the break-up of family relationships is often the quickest route into poverty. Recent evidence shows that on average couple families with children have a 1 in 4 chance of living in poverty compared to lone parents where this figure is more than half. Government poverty figures show that children in families that break apart are more than twice as likely to experience poverty as those whose families stay together. The consequence of families breaking up and the role of stronger families finds its way into every part of government which is why the Family Test is important.