 | Press ReleasesThree-quarters of British public optimistic about their families' future, suggests major survey for BBC News |
Three-quarters of the British public are optimistic about their families' future, suggests a major survey for BBC News. Seventy-six per cent of respondents replied that they were satisfied with the future facing their family. That is 24% points higher than when the same question was asked in 1964, when only 52% said they were optimistic. The BBC News poll on British family life was carried out as part of a special week of programming across BBC News on BBC One, BBC News 24, BBC Radio and bbc.co.uk/news. Over the week, BBC News will build up a picture of today's modern UK families – in all their different forms. However the survey suggests people's perceptions of family success have gone down. Just after the Second World War about half of people in the UK thought family life was becoming less successful than their parents' generation. Now, in 2007, seven out of ten polled believe family life is becoming less successful. Other poll findings suggest more people are feeling close to their families – 95% of respondents said their families were close, a rise of 4% since 1999. The overwhelming majority of those quizzed – 96% – said family life was important to them, and more than nine in 10 said they were very or fairly happy with their family life. Just under three-quarters said they felt happiest around their families. This compares to 17% who said they were happiest around friends. More than a third of people said the parent they are emotionally closest to lives within 10 miles of them. However an average of 81.4 miles separates respondents from where their parents live. That figure almost doubles to 158.6 miles among those living in London and, on average, non-white respondents also tended to live further from their parents than white respondents. Notes to Editors The poll was carried out by ICM between 18 and 21 October 2007; 1,001 respondents took part. Poll results available in full from BBC News Publicity. BBC News Publicity | 
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