Using material from Item 2B and elsewhere, assess sociological views of the impact of government
policies and laws on family life (20 marks)
Item 2B
Government policies and laws include tax and benefit policies as well as legislation such as that
relating to divorce and marriage. Sociologists have different views on the impact of these policies
and laws on families. For example, feminists argue that social policies assume that the ideal family is
a patriarchal nuclear family, and that government policies and laws therefore favour this sort of
family. On the other hand, the New Right argue that the benefit system undermines traditional
nuclear families by actively encouraging lone parents
Social policy is where the government creates plans and actions to either benefit or detrimental the
society, its main reasons are to improve, regulate or control social conditions. Government policies
and laws include tax and benefit policies as well as legislation such as the relating to divorce and
marriage. Sociologists have different views on the impact of these policies and laws on families.
m
er as
The introduction of the welfare state in the UK was aimed especially at the underclass and those
co
dependent financially on the government and local authorities. The Beveridge Report focuses on five
eH w
social evils that have to be tackled; these include poverty, ignorance, disease, squalor and idleness.
o.
Although most citizens see the welfare state as a positive institution that helps those who are
rs e
disadvantaged to have a better quality of life many New Right sociologists are against that. An
ou urc
American Sociologist, Charles Murray, has viewed ‘excessive’ state welfare payments as creating a
dependency culture which simply doesn’t want to work and contribute towards the society. For
Murray social welfare started out as a safety-net for people when they had hit with hard-time, but
o
has become hijacked by a group of people with no intention of working. Murray said that “the
aC s
underclass is defined by their behaviour’’. Their homes are littered and unkempt. The men in the
v i y re
family are unable to hold down a job. Drunkenness is common. The children grew up ill-schooled and
ill-behaved and contribute to a disproportionate share of juvenile delinquent. He sees the underclass
as behaviour or a lifestyle choice, a ‘disease’ which infects people who share many of the following
ed d
characteristics (female headed lone parents, out-of-wedlock-births, school drop-outs, violent and
ar stu
criminal)
However, the child tax credit and the child benefit (2003) which was introduced by the Labour
sh is
government, has focused greatly on the welfare of children. Schemes such as ‘Sure Start’ gave extra
support for families who were struggling with balancing work with child caring. From sociological
Th
research it has been drawn out that the child well being has increased and the neglect and abuse has
fallen. Also, literacy levels of children have been raised as more children attended day care facilities
which were funded by the local authorities and helped to educate them. This allowed for all children
to have a fair advantage when starting primary education as everyone would have attended nursery
beforehand. Furthermore, changes in law have meant that children now living in the UK have
compulsory education until the age of 18. As an effect children are kept longer in education and are
unable to start working full time. There are also restrictions on how many hours they are allowed to
do part-time jobs outside of school on the weekends. As an effect children now are an ‘economic
burden’ to their parents as they are not contributing financially to their own bringing up. Parents
support and spend a great deal of time and money to try and make their children enjoy and have a
comfortable upbringing, therefore they are not rebelling against the compulsory education for their
This study source was downloaded by 100000838319108 from CourseHero.com on 12-06-2021 08:36:09 GMT -06:00
https://www.coursehero.com/file/19190750/essay-policy/
policies and laws on family life (20 marks)
Item 2B
Government policies and laws include tax and benefit policies as well as legislation such as that
relating to divorce and marriage. Sociologists have different views on the impact of these policies
and laws on families. For example, feminists argue that social policies assume that the ideal family is
a patriarchal nuclear family, and that government policies and laws therefore favour this sort of
family. On the other hand, the New Right argue that the benefit system undermines traditional
nuclear families by actively encouraging lone parents
Social policy is where the government creates plans and actions to either benefit or detrimental the
society, its main reasons are to improve, regulate or control social conditions. Government policies
and laws include tax and benefit policies as well as legislation such as the relating to divorce and
marriage. Sociologists have different views on the impact of these policies and laws on families.
m
er as
The introduction of the welfare state in the UK was aimed especially at the underclass and those
co
dependent financially on the government and local authorities. The Beveridge Report focuses on five
eH w
social evils that have to be tackled; these include poverty, ignorance, disease, squalor and idleness.
o.
Although most citizens see the welfare state as a positive institution that helps those who are
rs e
disadvantaged to have a better quality of life many New Right sociologists are against that. An
ou urc
American Sociologist, Charles Murray, has viewed ‘excessive’ state welfare payments as creating a
dependency culture which simply doesn’t want to work and contribute towards the society. For
Murray social welfare started out as a safety-net for people when they had hit with hard-time, but
o
has become hijacked by a group of people with no intention of working. Murray said that “the
aC s
underclass is defined by their behaviour’’. Their homes are littered and unkempt. The men in the
v i y re
family are unable to hold down a job. Drunkenness is common. The children grew up ill-schooled and
ill-behaved and contribute to a disproportionate share of juvenile delinquent. He sees the underclass
as behaviour or a lifestyle choice, a ‘disease’ which infects people who share many of the following
ed d
characteristics (female headed lone parents, out-of-wedlock-births, school drop-outs, violent and
ar stu
criminal)
However, the child tax credit and the child benefit (2003) which was introduced by the Labour
sh is
government, has focused greatly on the welfare of children. Schemes such as ‘Sure Start’ gave extra
support for families who were struggling with balancing work with child caring. From sociological
Th
research it has been drawn out that the child well being has increased and the neglect and abuse has
fallen. Also, literacy levels of children have been raised as more children attended day care facilities
which were funded by the local authorities and helped to educate them. This allowed for all children
to have a fair advantage when starting primary education as everyone would have attended nursery
beforehand. Furthermore, changes in law have meant that children now living in the UK have
compulsory education until the age of 18. As an effect children are kept longer in education and are
unable to start working full time. There are also restrictions on how many hours they are allowed to
do part-time jobs outside of school on the weekends. As an effect children now are an ‘economic
burden’ to their parents as they are not contributing financially to their own bringing up. Parents
support and spend a great deal of time and money to try and make their children enjoy and have a
comfortable upbringing, therefore they are not rebelling against the compulsory education for their
This study source was downloaded by 100000838319108 from CourseHero.com on 12-06-2021 08:36:09 GMT -06:00
https://www.coursehero.com/file/19190750/essay-policy/
