Taskforce set to tackle barriers to happier family life

Unveiling the plan at a Barnardo's fathers' project in London, deputy prime minister Nick Clegg said ministers would look at tackling 'a hardcore of everyday bottlenecks that frustrate family life'.

The new body will look at areas such as extending the right to flexible working for all employees to help eradicate the 'stigma' that discourages men for asking for parental leave; giving greater support to disabled children; and providing more safe play areas.

It will also look at ways to prevent family breakdown by improving access to advice for parents, and funding organisations that provide counselling and support for families.

The taskforce is to be chaired by the Prime Minister and includes Mr Clegg, children's minister Sarah Teather, work and pensions secretary Iain Duncan Smith and science and universities minister David Willetts. It will report by the end of the year and proposals will be developed in the context of the Comprehensive Spending Review.

Dr Katherine Rake, chief executive of the Family and Parenting Institute, which manages the funding for the Barnardo's project, said, 'The Government must show the strength to protect family services in these difficult times.

'However, it remains to be seen exactly how these promises will be squared with the economic crisis. Cuts have very human consequences, and as Mr Clegg himself witnessed, consistent and well funded services are crucial for the country's poorest families. The very project he visited could be ended or severely restricted if the upcoming economic cutbacks are mishandled.'

The taskforce will also examine how to protect children from advertising targeted at them, building on Dr Tanya Byron's review on internet safety and Professor David Buckingham's review on the commercialisation of childhood.