A little family friction - Katherine Rake, chief executive, Family and Parenting Institute
Ross Watson
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Katherine Rake has been creating quite a stir. In her first keynote speech as chief executive of Family and Parenting Institute (FPI) last week, she warned policy makers not to "fall into the trap of investing large sums of money trying to reverse the tide of trends by trying to encourage more 'traditional families'."
This prompted some of the national press to brand her a Labour mouthpiece and "hard-line feminist" who is opposed to marriage.
Speaking to CYP Now the day after the speech, Rake insists: "What we certainly were not saying was that marriage is no longer relevant or an important institution. We were simply holding a mirror up to family life which is incredibly complex now. Politicians have to recognise and engage with that complexity."
Rake made the speech at the organisation's annual conference while introducing its research report, Family Trends. It shows fewer people are getting married, more are co-habiting and the number of lone parents is increasing. It also indicates that fathers want to spend more time with their children while more mothers want to enter the workforce.
But with FPI receiving £1.5m from the Labour government this year for its work, compared with £770,000 from other sources, Rake's assertion that we should not invest heavily in trying to save "traditional families" was seen by some as an attack on marriage on behalf of Labour.
Tax breaks for marriage
Given it has sparked a flurry of media comment, Rake is determined to clarify her viewpoint: "We know stable, committed relationships are hugely important for everybody's wellbeing," she says. "What we meant by that comment was that we are not convinced there is evidence that a simple tax break for married couples will work."
She refers to Conservative plans to support marriage through tax and benefits. According to Rake, there are a range of tax and benefit systems across Europe, some more supportive of marriage than others, yet nobody has escaped increasing rates of separation and divorce. She is also concerned that it would mean victims of divorce - particularly children - would be penalised when they are most in need.
Rake claims the report should serve as a reality check for the media. "Most people see family as a great source of support and are finding ways to negotiate new forms of relationships." That many parents are more reliant on wider family members, such as grandparents, is a hugely positive thing, she says. But she acknowledges the FPI's integrity has taken a severe blow by the suggestion that it speaks for the government.
Family research
Its Family Trends research, which has sought to identify what families look like, is the first of three strands of work. The other two will examine what families' needs are and how they can be supported. "Our credibility is proven in our work so what we do now in underpinning those three things will be the acid test," she says.
Determined to prove she is not what she terms a "patsy for Labour", Rake points out where the government has contributed to family breakdown. "We haven't had the reduction in child poverty rates or inequality and that has put pressure on family life without a doubt," she states. "The Conservatives are right when they say there was a lot of conversation in the early years of the Labour government about children, as though they existed in a vacuum," she says. "I think it's brilliant that the concept of family is back on the table for a proper discussion."
The country might be in the grip of a public spending squeeze but Rake urges that any "spare money" should go on support for new parents, relationships, and everyday costs such as childcare. She wants more training and support for practitioners to work with and recognise the importance of wider family, and better rights and benefits for grandparents.
"What we're concerned with, is that every penny spent on family wellbeing is well spent," she says. "Good family services and policies will invest in all family forms. If you get that right you'll end up with stable relationships."
CV - KATHERINE RAKE
- Rake became chief executive of the Family and Parenting Institute in October 2009
- She previously spent seven years as chief executive of gender equality campaign group, the Fawcett Society
- Prior to the Fawcett Society, she was a lecturer in social policy at the London School of Economics and seconded to the women's unit in the Cabinet Office, where she edited a report on women's lifetime incomes
- Rake has advised the Prime Minister's Policy Unit, HM Treasury and other government departments
- In 2008, she was awarded an OBE for services to advancing equal opportunities
