Brown pledges support for all parents

Wednesday, 7 March 2007 12:00 AM

The government has a "duty" to support all types of families and should not allow policies to be based on "ideological judgements", the chancellor Gordon Brown argued today.

Mr Brown confirmed today that he is pro family and pro marriage, but recognised the need for governments to address the needs of lone parents.

"All families face their own challenges which they tackle in their own way but government has a duty to support them all," he said.

Mr Brown explained: "By that, I mean practical, sustained help, whenever and wherever families need it, in whatever circumstances they find themselves, not by making ideological judgements but seeking always to find the best way to support every child.

"We need to mobilise all of our energies and commitment to support children and families - to help parents as they do the most difficult job in the world, raising a child."

Speaking at a meeting with parents arranged by the Equal Opportunities Commission and the Fawcett Society, Mr Brown promised to help families guide their children through the pressures of the "multimedia age".

Parents across the country have told him that they are concerned about the erosion of childhood, the chancellor said, and how to combat this "is a central concern for me as a parent and for all parents I know".

The chancellor outlined a number of proposals to support parents, including working with Ofcom to protect children from unsuitable material in the media.

Teachers should also take on a mentoring role, he argued, to encourage contact between pupils, parents and schools.

David Cameron has aligned the Conservative party firmly with marriage, claiming that family breakdown is the "main cause" of social collapse.

Speaking at the Welsh Conservative conference in Cardiff last weekend he said: "We support marriage, and will back it through the tax system. Some people say it's wrong to single out marriage in this way. I don't care.

"The point I am making is a common sense one, which is that children do better on the whole when mum and dad are there to bring them up. It's not an issue about morality or religion - it's just based on the evidence."

The Liberal Democrats have already dismissed the Conservatives' call for tax relief for marriage as "nonsense".

"Financial bribes will not guarantee that children grow up in a stable loving family relationship," argued Lib Dem family spokeswoman Annette Brooke.

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