The Impact of Social Policy on the Family (AQA A Level Sociology): Revision Note

What is social policy?

• Social policy can be defined as:

A government strategy to tackle social issues such as poverty, unemployment, child abuse, domestic violence, and homelessness

• These policies aim to regulate, improve, or or shape areas of life like work, family and income

Types of social policy

• Policies can take many forms:

  • Laws: marriage/divorce, adoption, contraception, abortion

  • Welfare & taxation: benefits, tax credits, marriage allowance

  • Public services: NHS, education, childcare, social care

Impact on families

• Social policies shape and influence family life both directly and indirectly:

  • Structure: promotes/penalises certain forms (nuclear, dual-earner, lone-parent)

  • Roles: defines parental duties; allocates care work

  • Economy: affects family income via benefits/taxes

  • Gender equality: can reinforce or reduce the domestic division of labour

Key examples in the UK

• Divorce Reform Act (1969) – Easier access to divorce

• Equal Pay Act (1970) – Promotes workplace gender equality

• Child Support Agency (CSA) – Enforces financial responsibility from absent parents

• Maternity & paternity leave – Supports working parents

• Free childcare provision – Helps mothers return to work

• Marriage tax allowance – Financial incentives for married couples.

Cross-cultural & historical social policies

• China's one-child policy (1979–2015): State-monitored population control discouraged couples from having more than one child. Couples received rewards for compliance but penalties for extra children

• Nazi Germany (1930s–40s): Restricted abortion/contraception and encouraged the 'racially pure' to breed a 'master race'. The state sterilised 375,000 disabled people who were 'unfit' to breed

• Democratic societies: Policies can still steer family life (e.g., parental leave, tax incentives, childcare subsidies) but the government doesn't intervene except in cases of child abuse

• Drew (1995) “Gender Regimes”:

  • Familistic regimes (e.g., Greece, Spain): there is little state childcare so women rely on family; this reinforces traditional roles

  • Individualistic regimes (e.g., Sweden): policies assume equality; each partner has equal rights to benefits, e.g., maternity and paternity leave

Sociological theories and family social policy

• Sociologists disagree on how social policies affect family life and whether their impact is positive or negative

Functionalist view

• Supportive of social policy

  • Functionalists believe that social policies are positive and help the family fulfil its functions

• Promoting social stability

  • Policies like the NHS, education, and welfare strengthen families by supporting their ability to care for their members

  • Fletcher (1966) argued that modern policies allow families to perform their functions more efficiently

• Meritocratic view

  • Functionalists assume all members of society benefit equally from policy interventions in a fair and functional society

• Evaluation

  • Feminists: Policies often benefit men more than women, reinforcing gender inequality

  • Marxists: Policies may reverse progress when welfare cuts harm poor families

Donzelot: surveillance and control

• Conflict view:

  • Donzelot (1977) argues that policies are tools for the state to monitor and regulate poorer families under the guise of care

• Professionals as agents of control

  • Foucault (1976): professionals, e.g., doctors, teachers, and social workers, are used to ‘police’ family behaviour

  • Lower-class families are more likely to be targeted as 'problem families' in need of discipline and correction

  • Condry (2007): Parenting Orders and fines for truancy exemplify state control

• Evaluation

  • Criticised for vagueness: Donzelot fails to specify who benefits from surveillance

  • Marxists: Policies serve capitalist interests

  • Feminists: Policies primarily benefit men, maintaining patriarchal control

New Right perspective

• Critical of welfare policies

  • Argue modern policies undermine traditional values and weaken the nuclear family

• Main concerns

  • Welfare dependency: Murray (1990) argues that over-generous benefits create a 'dependency culture' where people rely on the state rather than working

  • Family breakdown: Policies like free childcare and housing support for single parents encourage lone-parent families and cohabitation

  • Moral decline: Policies supporting same-sex marriage or alternative family types are seen as harmful

• Preferred policy approaches

  • Financial incentives for married, heterosexual couples

  • Reduced state benefits and minimal state interference in family life

• Evaluation

  • Abbott & Wallace (1992): Cutting benefits can drive poor families into deeper poverty, not independence

  • Critics: New Right ignores policies that already support nuclear families (e.g., marriage allowance)

Policies influenced by the New Right

Conservative governments (1979–97)

• Reflected New Right views: saw divorce and single parenthood as social problems

• Thatcher's government banned the 'promotion' of homosexuality in schools

• Emphasised parental responsibility by setting up the Child Support Agency to enforce maintenance payments by absent fathers

New Labour governments (1997–2010)

• Stressed parents’ responsibility to support children by introducing Parenting Orders for parents of truants and young offenders

• Claimed that the nuclear family was an ideal environment for bringing up children, but accepted diversity (e.g., civil partnerships, adoption rights for unmarried couples)

Coalition government (2010–15)

• Split between modernisers who accept diversity and traditionalists who favour a New Right view

• Austerity cuts reduced welfare, but same-sex marriage legalised (2013)

Feminist view

• Ongoing gender inequality

  • Policies often reinforce traditional gender roles by assuming women are carers

    • Lack of state-funded childcare limits women’s work opportunities

    • School timetables and holidays reinforce dependence on women for care

    • More generous maternity leave encourages the view that childcare is a mother’s role

    • Assumption that female relatives will care for the sick and elderly

• Evaluation

  • Liberal feminists: Policies like the Equal Pay Act (1970), Sex Discrimination Act (1975), and 30 hours free childcare have improved women’s position

  • EU trend: Many EU countries now move towards individualistic gender regimes, encouraging greater gender equality

Marxist Perspective

• Critical of capitalist influence

  • Policies may appear supportive but primarily serve capitalist interests; e.g., Tax Credits help workers raise the next generation of workers in line with capitalist needs

• Key functions of policy under capitalism

  • Maintain workforce: Free healthcare/education ensures a fit, educated labour force

  • Legitimise capitalism: Welfare (e.g., child benefits) creates an illusion of fairness, hiding exploitation

  • Prevent unrest: Limited welfare reduces the risk of working-class revolt by easing poverty

• Evaluation

  • Ignores real benefits: Policies like the NHS and maternity pay genuinely improve living standards

  • Economic determinism: Overstates capitalism’s control; states can pass policies that benefit workers

  • Gender blind: Feminists argue that policies also reinforce patriarchy, not just class inequality