The UK Government has failed to deliver on its promised agenda of strengthening families, and its delay in doing so is fuelling social breakdown, according to an influential think-tank.

The Centre for Social Justice (CSJ), founded by former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith, have said that, despite “a host of commitments to tackle family breakdown” made by the Conservatives while in opposition, the party has done little to fulfil its pledges.

In a column for the Times, associate director Dr Samantha Callan said that the Government appeared “to have thrown in the towel when it comes to developing a clear and coherent strategy to strengthen families”.

The accusation comes months after the Coalition Government was slammed for an attack on stay-at-home mothers.  

Dr Callan\\\’s column pointed to research by the CSJ which showed the damaging impact of family breakdown.

The research showed that nearly half of all children born today will see their parents split up by the age of 16 and a child not growing up in a two-parent family is 75 per cent more likely to fail at school.

The CSJ has urged the Government to use the spending review in June to earmark funds for eliminating the \\\’couple penalty\\\’, which means many low-income parents lose benefits if they register as a couple..

Dr Callan reiterated the point that, pound for pound, a transferable tax allowance for married couples would do more to help poorer couples than further increases in personal income tax thresholds.

The column was published a day after a report from the Government’s social justice strategy showed that families are becoming increasingly unstable, with about 300,000 couples separating each year.

Dr Callan added: “The Prime Minister has talked about the social recovery that must accompany economic growth, but that cannot be delivered by state employees. Parents are the key to building one nation of equal opportunity and social justice.”

Last month the Government was accused of insulting stay-at-home mothers after Downing Street suggested that they would be excluded from receiving child care support because they do not want to “work hard and get on”.  

The plan means that working parents earning up to £150,000 each will get up to £1,200 per annum to help with child care because they have a “greater need” than those who do not work. But the policy excluded stay-at-home mothers.

Asked whether the Prime Minister was “concerned” that the vouchers scheme was penalising stay-at-home mothers, his official spokesman simply said the measures were “very important as part of supporting those who want to work hard and to get on”.

When asked if Mr Cameron believed that stay-at-home parents were less in need of state help than working parents, the spokesman would only say that the Prime Minister wanted to support “aspiration”.