Committee on One Parent Families (Finer Committee)

Identity Statement

Reference code(s)	: GB 0097 FINER COMMITTEE
Held at	: British Library of Political and Economic Science   Click here to find out how to view this collection at http://www.lse.ac.uk/library ›
Full title	: Committee on One Parent Families (Finer Committee)
Date(s)	: 1966-1974
Level of description	: Collection (fonds)
Extent	: 15 boxes
Name of creator(s)	: Committee on One Parent Families (Finer Committee) Titmuss | Richard Morris | 1907-1973 | Professor of Social Administration

Context

Administrative/Biographical history:

The Committee on One Parent Families (Finer Committee) was established by Richard (Howard Stafford) Crossman, Secretary of State for Social Services, on 6 November 1969, to consider the problems of one parent families and what help could be given them. The Chair was the Hon Sir Morris Finer (1917-1974). The Report of the Committee (Cmnd 5629) was presented to Barbara Anne Castle, Secretary of State for Social Services, in July 1974. The Committee gathered material through the research projects of universities, government departments and charities, as well as the Department of Health and Social Services and its own research assistants. It also collected evidence from organisations and individuals, a request for which was published in the national press of November 1969. Professor Richard Morris Titmuss, Professor of Social Administration at LSE, was a member of the Committee until his death in 1973.

Content

Scope and content/abstract:

Papers of the Committee on One Parent Families (Finer Committee), 1966-1974, comprising Committee meeting minutes and background papers, 1969-1974; Committee papers, 1969-1973; documents circulated to the Committee members, 1969-1974; minutes and papers of the Research Sub-Committee, 1970-1972; evidence files, 1969-1974, containing evidence presented to the Finer Committee by Citizens Advice Bureaux, local authorities, charities and individuals; papers collated by the Committee relating to government responses to the needs of one parent families, 1969-1974, including Hansard correspondence, a DHSS study of deserted wives claiming benefits, and replies to a questionnaire sent to the governments of Norway, Belgium, Denmark, West Germany, Netherlands, Italy, Switzerland, France, Luxembourg, Sweden and the UK; subject files, 1966-1973, containing material gathered on specific topics, such as marriage, the National Children's Bureau, income and maintenance, social security provision in other European countries, cohabitation, and family law.

Access & Use

Language/scripts of material:
English

System of arrangement:

Arranged in sections as follows: committee minutes, committee papers, circulated documents, research sub-committee documents, evidence files, government evidence files, and subject files.

Conditions governing access:

Open, though some confidential files remain closed. Apply to Archivist for details.

Conditions governing reproduction:

Copyright retained by the donors and their heirs. Most documents may be photocopied.

Finding aids:

Temporary handlist and on-line catalogue available.

Archival Information

Archival history:

The unpublished papers of Sir Morris Finer were deposited by the family in 1975. The papers relating to the Committee collected by Titmuss were given by Professor Brian Abel-Smith in 1977.

Immediate source of acquisition:

Allied Materials

Related material:

The BLPES holds material relating to the Committee on One Parent Families in the papers of Professor Richard Morris Titmuss (Ref: Titmuss/2/233 and 4/632-640).

National Register of Archives: Click here to view NRA record

Publication note:

Description Notes

Archivist's note:
Sources: British Library of Political and Economic Science catalogue. Compiled by Sarah Aitchison as part of the AIM25 project.

Rules or conventions:
Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997.

Date(s) of descriptions:
Oct 2000