New government task force on childhood and families

The Government will announce today a new task force on childhood and families with a remit to draw up family policy and consider whether marriage should be recognised in the tax system.

The Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, will launch the new Childhood and Families Ministerial Task Force at an event at Barnardo's in central London today.

Mr Clegg is expected  to say: "This Government believes that we strengthen our society by giving people the power to make choices over their lives.

"We believe in the informal networks between people that provide families with support, as well as the strong sense of community identity that helps make children feel secure. So it should come as no surprise that this agenda is being driven from the heart of government.

"This group will identify specific policy proposals that will make the biggest difference to children and families, tackling a hardcore of everyday bottlenecks that frustrate family life to give parents the freedom they need in the first place."

The task force will be chaired by the Prime Minister, David Cameron, who  along with  Mr Clegg will be joined by Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith, children's minister Sarah Teather, science and universities minister David Willetts, public health minister Anne Milton and economic secretary to the Treasury Justine Greening.

David Willetts has written reports on improving contact between children and their fathers and grandparents, whilst Iain Duncan Smith set up the family policy think tank , the Centre for Social Justice.

The task force is due to report its conclusions at around the end of the year.