Extracts from the Government Document. Read it and see if this ties with the employer’s attitude and intentions for a ‘modern fire service’ and the employment proposals they want to see.

Foreword

By The Right Honourable Jack Straw MP

Family life is the foundation on which our communities, our society and our country are built. Families are central to this Government’s vision of a modern and decent country. They are as important now as they have ever been.

But families are also under considerable stress. As ever it is a hard job to be a parent. More marriages end in divorce. More children are brought up in lone parent families. Government could not turn the clock back even if it wanted to do so. There never was a golden age of the family. Family life has continually changed - and changed for good reasons as well as bad.

But what families - all families - have a right to expect from government is support. This includes a modern National Health Service equipped to meet their needs; local schools to provide good education for their children; safe streets, strong communities; and a welfare system which offers security for those who can’t work, and helps those who can into work.

We are striving to deliver this. But families rightly expect more. They do not want to be lectured or hectored, least of all by politicians. But they do want clear advice to be available when they need it on everything from their children’s health to their own role as parents. They also want financial support which recognises the extra costs of bringing up children.

This is the first time any government has published a consultation paper on the family. I believe it is long overdue. The Ministerial Group on the Family, which I chair, has been working over the course of this year on a programme of sensible and pragmatic measures which will strengthen the family.

This paper does not set out to cover every possible issue with a bearing on family life. Issues such as enhancing the role and status of carers, long term care of the elderly, adoption, and children in care are being dealt with separately.

Nor is it government interfering in family life. It is not about pressuring people into one type of relationship or forcing them to stay together. Instead, it is about the practical support the Government can provide to help parents do the best they can for their children.

The Rt Hon Jack Straw MP

Introduction
1. Families are at the heart of our society. Most of us live in families and we value them because they provide love, support, and care. They educate us, and they teach right from wrong. Our future depends on their success in bringing up children. That is why we are committed to strengthening family life.

2. There is now a widespread recognition that anew approach supporting to the family is needed. Families are under stress. The divorce rate has risen sharply. There are more children being brought up in single parent households, and there is more child poverty, often as a direct consequence of family breakdown. Rising crime and drug abuse are indirect symptoms of problems in the family.

3. Saying that families are a good thing is not enough. Good intentions need to be carried through in practice.

4. But governments have to be wary about intervening in areas of private life and intimate emotion. We in Government need to approach family policy with a strong dose of humility. We must not preach and we must not give the impression that members of the Government are any better than the rest of the population in meeting the challenge of family life. They are not.

5. We also need to acknowledge just how much families have changed. Family structure has become more complicated, with many more children living with step-parents or in single parent households. They may face extra difficulties and we have designed practical support with these parents in mind. Women increasingly want to work and have careers as well as being mothers. Many fathers want more involvement with their children’s upbringing.

6. A modern family policy needs to recognise these new realities. It also needs to be founded on clear principles.

7. First, the interests of children must be paramount. The Government’s interest in family policy is primarily an interest in ensuring that the next generation gets the best possible start in life.

8. Second, children need stability and security. Many lone parents and unmarried couples raise their children every bit as successfully as married parents. But marriage is still the surest foundation for raising children and remains the choice of the majority of people in Britain. We want to strengthen the institution of marriage to help more marriages to succeed.

9. Third, wherever possible, government should offer support to all parents so that they can better support children, rather than trying to substitute for parents. There needs to be a clear understanding of the rights and responsibilities which fall to families and to government. Parents raise children, and that is how things should remain. More direct intervention should only occur in extreme circumstances, for example in cases of domestic violence or where the welfare of children is at stake.

Supporting families

10. Families depend on government for services such as education, health, social services, and law and order. In almost everything that government does, we can help families, neglect them or even do them active harm. So it must be right for government to have a policy towards the family, to provide the best support that we can.

11. This positive, supporting role is needed now more than ever. And just as the strains on families have increased over the years, so the support provided to help families needs to change too. Neither a ‘back to basics’ fundamentalism, trying to turn back the clock, nor an ‘anything goes’ liberalism which denies the fact that how families behave affects us all, is credible any more.

12. Instead, our approach concentrates on five areas where government can make a difference:

• ensuring that all parents have access to the advice and support they need, improving services and strengthening the ways in which the wider family and communities support and nurture family life
  
• improving family prosperity, reducing child poverty, and ensuring that the tax and benefit system properly acknowledges the costs of bringing up children
  
• making it easier for parents to spend more time with their children by helping families to balance work and home
  
• strengthening marriage and reducing the risks of family breakdown
  
• tackling the more serious problems of family life, including domestic violence and school-age pregnancy.

13. Each of these is covered in detail in the following chapters. In each case, as well as setting out the problems which need to be tackled, and our aims and principles, we also set out concrete proposals for action, and questions on which views are sought.

14. When these proposals have implications for local authorities, appropriate resources will be made available before any new responsibilities are introduced.

15. We make no apology for the fact that this consultation paper is primarily concerned with practical steps that can be taken to support families. In the past, family policy has often suffered from an excess of rhetoric and a lack of practical action.

16. It has also suffered from the misguided view that there are large levers that governments can pull to affect how families behave. The truth is that families are, and will always be, mainly shaped by private choices well beyond the influence of government. That is how it should be. But that is no excuse for government not to do what it can.

17. This consultation paper marks the beginning of a debate. It sets out a major programme of action, some of which is already being implemented, and some of which we are consulting on. We would welcome your views.

Chapter 1

Better Services and Support for Parents
1.1 Good parenting benefits us all. It provides children with the best possible start in life. It improves their health, schooling and prospects in later life, and it reduces the risk of serious social problems such as truancy, offending, and drug misuse.

1.2 All parents need support with their children’s health, education and welfare, and many also want advice and guidance on how to bring up their children. However, parents do not want lectures from the state, or to be nagged or nannied. Except in exceptional circumstances, where the well-being of family members is at stake, it must be the decision of the parents when to ask for help or advice. Our priority is to provide better support for parents so that parents can provide better support for their children.

1.3 Currently, the provision of support to parents does not match their needs. Two problems stand out. There is a gap in support in the vital early years between birth and school and there is insufficient information for parents on the more general parenting support available.

1.4 The Government plans to tackle these problems head-on through four new initiatives:

• a new National Family and Parenting Institute, to provide helpful guidance and develop more and better parenting support
  
• a new national parenting helpline to be developed by ParentLine to offer advice to parents and refer people to local sources of help
  
• a new enhanced role for health visitors, embracing the whole well-being of parents and children as well as their physical health
  
• Sure Start, a new £540 million initiative to help children in their early years grow up with the skills they need to make the most of school.
  
  1.5 We also intend to:
  
  • help parents help their children learn through family literacy and mentoring schemes
  • introduce education for parenthood in the school curriculum
  • help grandparents and older people offer more support to families
  • improve the rules for adoption.
  
• Toddler training groups Parents might be given the opportunity to attend a course (of perhaps six weekly sessions) in which they would be encouraged to meet other parents with toddlers and to develop ways to cope with behaviour problems.

1.56 Our White Paper Excellence in schools proposed that all secondary schools should teach their pupils about the responsibilities of parenthood. Responses to the consultation have confirmed support from schools and parents for these proposals. Many schools give education about parenthood, although provision is far from universal. We undertook not to change the National Curriculum until the year 2000 to give teachers some essential stability after a long period of change. But we will place greater emphasis in the curriculum on the responsibilities of parenthood at the first opportunity.

Changes to adoption guidelines
1.57 Would-be parents who would like to adopt children need the best possible service and support. The old adoption guidelines set too many obstacles in the way of adoption and were unfair both on those wanting to adopt and on children awaiting adoption.

Chapter 2

Better Financial Support for Families
2.1 Giving a child the best start in life takes more than money, but it is difficult to do without it. Yet in Britain today millions of children are being brought up in poverty, and millions of others live in families that find it hard to make ends meet. Nearly three million children are growing up in households where no-one works. Ending the scourge of child poverty remains a top priority for this Government.

Working Families Tax Credit
2.7 Many people who can work, and who want to work, are discouraged from doing so by the low rewards for working more, or even for taking a job at all. People are reluctant to take work that does not pay. This poverty trap frustrates people’s ambitions to provide for themselves and their families.

Childcare tax credit within the Working Families Tax Credit
2.11 For many parents, especially lone parents, the cost of childcare is a major obstacle to work. This Government is determined to make work pay, and to ensure that no parents are unable to take up work because of the lack of access to affordable quality childcare.

The New Deal for Lone Parents
2.15 Not all parents can work or wish to do so, and we support and value those parents who want to bring up their children full-time. But we also want to help those who do want to work.

2.16 We know that it is often particularly difficult for lone parents to find work. Currently in the UK only 44 per cent of lone mothers are in employment, compared to 68 per cent of mothers in couples. This compares with France where 82 per cent of lone mothers are in work and Sweden where the proportion is 70 per cent. But research carried out for DSS shows that 85 per cent of lone mothers in the UK who were not in employment said they wanted to work.

Chapter 3

Helping Families Balance Work and Home
3.1 Work offers the surest way for families to provide for themselves. But work also takes up time which could otherwise be committed to the family: caring for children, and also for sick, disabled or elderly family members. Many families find it hard to strike the right balance, and many are suffering from intense pressures on their time.

3.2 It is in all our interests to reconcile better the demands of work and home. Families themselves benefit. Children gain from having more time with their parents. But employers can also benefit from having a more committed workforce, and from being better able to retain and recruit parents. Society as a whole can also benefit, since a better balance between work and family should lead to less reliance for care on the NHS and social services and fewer social problems such as truancy and marital breakdown.

3.3 This is why the Government is supporting those with family commitments who wish to work, for example through the National Childcare Strategy and the Working Families Tax Credit (described in full in Chapter Two) and the forthcoming National Carers’ Strategy.

3.4 We also want to support families and businesses to create the best environment to balance work and home. This means:

• Setting a basic, fair framework of family-friendly employee rights on working hours, flexible working arrangements, parental leave, and dealing with family crises.
  
• Promoting family-friendly employment practices, encouraging firms to go beyond this statutory minimum and take further advantage of the benefits for staff recruitment, retention and productivity. The Government should lead by example in its own employment practice.

3.5 Together, these initiatives will help families to meet their commitments at work and in the home, and bring substantial benefits to businesses, the economy and to society as a whole.

Family-friendly employment
3.6 The vast majority of people raise children at some point in their working lives, and have to adjust their lives to cope. A significant proportion - about one in four - also have responsibilities as carers for elderly, sick or disabled people. Many people want to be able to provide care within the family or to look after their children, while also benefiting from greater independence through paid employment. They often need part time work or work with flexible hours.

3.7 For all of these people flexible family-friendly working arrangements are essential for helping them to balance their family responsibilities with paid employment. The availability of childcare, flexible working arrangements and reasonable time off to deal with family emergencies, all contribute to making it possible for everyone to share in the social and economic benefits of work.

3.8 However, access to family-friendly employment policies is patchy at the moment. It is most readily available in the public sector and some of the larger private sector companies. Other employers are concerned about the additional costs and management burdens that more family-friendly policies may entail. We would like to hear from employers about the difficulties that such policies present and we want to understand what leads some employers to adopt family-friendly working practices despite the obstacles.

Family-friendly employer employee rights
3.9 The White Paper Fairness at Work described the Government’s plans for implementing the European Union Working Time and Young Workers Directives; set out the Government’s proposals for introducing parental leave as part of a cohesive package of parental rights including simplified and improved maternity rights; and welcomed the European Union Part-time Work Directive, which was extended to the United Kingdom at the earliest opportunity in April 1998.

Promoting sensible working hours
3.10 Well-managed and competitive businesses ensure that their staff work sensible hours and are able to agree appropriate work patterns with their employees. These agreements might cover the working week, annual paid leave and night working, all of which can affect family life. Some firms, however, do coerce staff into working excessive hours. To support the responsible majority, the Government is underpinning voluntary co-operation on working time with a set of statutory minimum standards, including limiting the working week to 48 hours unless employees themselves want to work for longer.

Parental leave
3.15 Three months’ unpaid parental leave will be introduced for parents when they have a baby or adopt a child. Parental leave will be available to employees who have completed one year’s service. Fairness at Work invited views on how and when parental leave should be made available in practice and how difficulties for small firms could be alleviated. Special consideration is also being given to making the scheme work for adoptive parents whose needs may be different.

Time off for urgent family reasons
3.16 This will be introduced for all employees, regardless of length of service. It will protect all employees who have to take time off, for example to look after a child or an elderly parent who has fallen ill or to deal with a crisis at home.

Promoting family-friendly employment practice
3.17 These measures will help to set a new baseline of rights and opportunities for many employees. But the Government believes that more can be done beyond setting minimum standards in legislation. Some employers believe that they cannot afford family-friendly policies. While it must be for companies themselves to take a hard-headed look at their own business, there are plenty of examples of companies, such as Boots and Midland Bank, improving their employment practices and making significant direct savings, for example, by reducing training and recruitment costs by encouraging workers to return after parental leave.

3.18 So we want the benefits of family-friendly employment practices to be more widely understood. We also want to help businesses that do want to take advantage of the potential savings on offer, but are unsure how to do so, with improved advice.

3.19 Family-friendly employment practices can be good for everyone:

• Good for those providing care: extending choice for both mothers and fathers by giving them the chance to spend more time at home, as well as support their children financially. It also allows carers of sick, disabled or elderly relatives to combine their highly valued social role with involvement in the labour market.
  
• Good for children and people receiving care: people who are able to balance work and caring commitments find it easier to provide quality care within the family and, through good quality childcare, outside the home. Working parents can give their children a higher standard of living and provide role models for adult employment.
  
• Good for business: businesses with family-friendly employment policies can benefit, through easier and cheaper recruitment, reduced sick leave and absenteeism, and enhanced employee loyalty with improved retention rates. Those with the best policies can also gain a ‘first-mover advantage’ in competing to recruit and retain skilled staff.
  
• Good for the economy: family-friendly policies can help to boost the economy by:
  increasing the number of people, including skilled people, in the labour market, and
  
• increasing the numbers returning to education and training
  
• enhancing financial independence, especially in women, both immediately, as they benefit from a higher standard of living, and after retirement as a result of building up a better pension entitlement
  
• increasing the sustainable level of employment, and improving productivity, leading to an increase in overall living standards.
  
• Good for society: family-friendly employment policies may bring wider social benefits through more stable families; fewer broken relationships between parents; children who are better supported in their education; reduced delinquent behaviour and criminality among young people; and a better quality of life for sick and disabled relatives. Many firms recognise that better employment practices can strengthen families and communities and help to tackle problems such as crime that affect businesses as well as individuals.

It seems that whilst the government say they understand this document because they wrote it the employers have not even read it and those who have seem not to understand what it is saying.

How can we have a Government, issuing a document to support families and then say the very same people with families in the fire service should:

• Work longer hours
  
• Move away from a shift pattern which can help families with child care arrangements
  
• Work along side people on different pay rates
  
• Work in a team where one members family benefits from a different pay scale
  
• Work on ever changing work patterns
  
• Make continuing and serious adjustments to home and family life as work demands outweigh ever more social and family demands.

The whole document runs to almost 60 pages. It shows what we should be aiming for to help families not only stay together but to have time to spend together.

The employers proposals for a modern fire service fly not only in the face of fairness and good employment practice but also in the face of this Government policy.

Why is it then that together the employers and government state that the pay and modernisation package is good for Firefighters and Control staff and their families when it clearly is not?

Why is it together they say job cuts will lead to a better service?

Why is it they say that working longer hours to prop up pay will in fact be good for you and your family?

Why is it that those who want to dictate conditions of service to us are surprised if we reject those proposals because we not only want a future with our families we can pay for but we want to be there to enjoy it too.



Dean Mills
Regional Secretary

Thank you for taking the time to read this. If you have any queries or want any more information please contact me on:

Mob: 07956 502585

Regional Office: 01494 513034

email:deanmills@hotmail.com