Tories pledge family focus

The government must do more to support the family if it wants to tackle social breakdown, according to the Conservatives. 

David Cameron used a speech to relationship guidance charity Relate on Monday to say that a Tory government would offer wide ranging reforms to make Britain more family-friendly.

He set out plans to promote couple counselling, make childcare more affordable and offer tax breaks for married couples.

The Tory leader argued that the family is key to preventing social breakdown, which costs the taxpayer £20bn a year.

"I want us to de-stigmatise relationship support so people feel completely comfortable, if they have a nagging difficulty in their relationship, in getting help from organisations like Relate," he said.

"Government can take a lead here. One way is to start early - and insist, for example, that there's no sex education in schools unless it includes relationship education."

He added: "The number one challenge we've got in this country today is to strengthen our society.

"There is no more important way of doing that than strengthening families, and there's nothing more important to families than the strength of their relationships.

"Today, we have the report from the UK's children commissioners showing that something terrible has gone on with our society these last few years.

"Right now, Britain has one of the highest rates of family breakdown in Europe. And we also have some of the worst social problems in Europe.

"That's why I say it's time for change: to make this country more family-friendly so we can turn around the social breakdown, turn around the crime and anti-social behaviour, turn around this unacceptable situation where our cost of living's going up and the quality of life is going down.

"I don't think we'll ever get to the heart of the big problems we face, from crime and anti-social behaviour to welfare dependency and educational failure; from debt and drug addiction to entrenched poverty and stalled social mobility, if we don't help the best institution in our country - the family - do the vital work that it does in bringing up children.

"What that help is - and how it is delivered - will be amongst the defining social reforms of the next Conservative government."