Senior Tories call for cabinet-level families post

The group, of 44 MPs and eight peers, including former Education Secretary Nicky Morgan, ex-Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith and former children's minister Tim Loughton, also wants a senior minister in all government departments to measure how policies impact on families.

The group's Strengthening Families Manifesto wants to see a future Families Secretary's cross-governmental brief added to an existing cabinet post, such as Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, and backed by its own budget and civil service team. 

"Supporting families cuts across every part of government and requires a high level of cross-departmental working," states the group's Family Manifesto.

"To deliver this effectively, a cabinet minister should be appointed with responsibility for families.

"In the same way that the Education Secretary also holds the equalities brief, another secretary of state with a cross-governmental brief or one of the larger departments such as work and pensions or communities and local government should also bear named responsibility for families.

"They would require an equivalent body to the Government Equalities Office based in the Department for Education: a dedicated budget and civil service team to enable the prioritisation and co-ordination of family policies across government."

Other measures put forward in the manifesto include requiring unemployed parents accessing free childcare provision for a two-year old to take part in weekly "stay and play" sessions.

It also wants to see government encourage and help councils to develop family hubs, which would co-locate services for children across a range of ages as well as offer relationship support for parents at risk of separation.

In addition, the group is calling for maternity services to review and improve their support for fathers. A legal requirement for fathers to be named on birth certificates should also be introduced and government should invest in online promotion of relationship education.

The manifesto's focus on strengthening family relationships is backed by Jo Casebourne, chief executive of the Early Intervention Foundation.

"The evidence is clear that a child's mental health and long-term life chances are at risk if they are growing up with parents engaged in frequent, intense and poorly resolved conflict, regardless of whether their parents are together or separated," she said.

"In these kinds of situation, boosting children's long-term wellbeing means that parental conflict needs to be addressed as part of wider early intervention efforts.

"We share the ambition to ensure that parental relationship support is an accessible part of local services, so that couples are able to get help early."