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The Background: ‘Setting the Scene’

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Abstract

This chapter sets the scene for a deeper understanding of the context in which the 1991 Child Support Act was formulated, and how the ‘problem’ was constructed. It provides an historical and contextual background, looking at the trends relating to lone-parent families in Britain. This chapter demonstrates that the period preceding the creation of the 1991 Child Support Act was one of considerable change, not only in terms of the changing landscape of lone parents, but also a change through the introduction of New Right ideas within the Government and the popular press.

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McCarthy-Cotter, L. (2019). The Background: ‘Setting the Scene’. In: The 1991 Child Support Act. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-98761-3_2

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