Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask Her Majesty's Government how many Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy policies have been assessed against the Family Test; and whether they have published the outcome of any such assessments.

The Government is committed to supporting families. In order to achieve this, in 2014 we introduced the Family Test, which aims to ensure that impacts on family relationships and functioning are recognised early on during the process of policy development and help inform the policy decisions made by Ministers.

The majority of BEIS policy areas do not have a direct impact on the formation, make-up, or breakdown of families. However, where these impacts are relevant, the Family Test is applied to policy changes in a proportionate manner. Officials leading directly on the policy development are responsible for undertaking this analysis, and for advising Ministers on these impacts.

When applicable, analysis on family impacts is included within impact assessments, which are publically available. This analysis is usually qualitative in nature, as it is difficult to make quantitative estimates on the impacts from policy changes. Following implementation of the policy, BEIS monitors and reviews its impacts in a proportionate manner.