Lone parents
Helping lone parents into work
The White Paper “Raising expectations and increasing support: reforming welfare for the future”outlines the Government’s proposals to take account of the new personalised conditionality vision for lone parents with younger children proposed by the Gregg Report “Realising potential: A vision for personalised conditionality and support”.
- Raising expectations and increasing support: reforming welfare for the future (10 December 2008)
- Realising potential: A vision for personalised conditionality and support (2 December 2008)
The Government intends to test measures requiring parents with children aged 3–6 to work closely with their adviser and design their own routeway back to work. Underpinning that will be a set of requirements to:
- attend Work Focused Interviews
- agree their action plan
- undertake work related activity, including training which takes that plan forward
- undertake specific work related activity as directed by an adviser, in limited circumstances.
All of these steps are designed to prepare these parents for work.
A discussion document “Realising potential: Developing personalised conditionality and support” was published on 28 January 2009 so that we can discuss with key stakeholders how this could work.
These measures will support new obligations for lone parents with older children introduced on 24 November 2008. The measures require lone parents who are claiming benefit solely on the grounds of being a lone parent, and who are capable of work, to claim Jobseeker’s Allowance when their youngest child is:
- 12 or over from November 2008
- 10 or over from October 2009
- 7 or over from October 2010.
These changes will only apply to lone parents who are able to work. Lone parents who also have other reasons for claiming Income Support will continue to be eligible to claim Income Support or another appropriate benefit such as Employment and Support Allowance. They remain eligible for Income Support if, for example:
- they have children for whom the middle of highest rate care component of Disability Living Allowance is payable
- they claim Carers Allowance
- they are fostering.
Pre-employment and in-work support
Lone parents claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance will continue to have access to pre-employment and in-work support aimed at helping them move into paid work, make work pay, help sustainability and progression in work and ease the transition from benefit to employment. This support includes:
- New Deal for Lone Parents (NDLP) a voluntary programme introduced in October 1998 to help lone parents overcome barriers to work and improve their chances of taking up paid employment.
- New Deal Plus for Lone Parents (ND+fLP) pilots extended and expanded.
- Six monthly Work Focused Interviews for lone parents with a youngest child aged 10 or under
- Quarterly Work Focused Interviews for all lone parents in the last year before their child reaches the age where they may lose eligibility to Income Support and may move onto Jobseekers Allowance.
- Guaranteed Job Interview for every lone parent who is looking for and ready for work.
- Options and Choices events group sessions that will enable lone parents to understand how Jobcentre Plus and its partners can help them prepare for work and how the local labour market works.
- Work Trials giving lone parents (and other unemployed customers) the opportunity to try out a job for up to 6 weeks without having to give up benefit.
- In Work Credit paid at £40 a week (£60 in London) for 52 weeks to lone parents leaving benefits for work of 16 hours or more. In Work Credit is also available to couple parents in New Deal Plus for Lone Parents pilot districts throughout the country.
- In Work Emergency Discretionary Fund provides financial help to lone parents for the first 26 weeks of their employment, to overcome any unexpected financial barriers which might otherwise prevent them from remaining in their jobs.
- In Work Advisory Support from Jobcentre Plus Advisers for all lone parents in their first 26 weeks of employment to help resolve any difficulties, and direct individuals towards any support needed such as skills and training.
- Upfront Childcare Fund pilot in London provides financial support to lone parents to cover advance childcare costs such as registration fees, deposits and advance payments.
- In Work Retention pilot a two-year pilot to test the effectiveness of using In Work Credit as an aid to job retention and progression. After a period of weekly payments to support the transition into work, lone parents will receive lump sum payments if they attend further meetings with a Personal Adviser.
- Better Off In Work Credit trial to ensure that lone parents (and customers on Jobseeker’s Allowance and Incapacity Benefit) are at least £25 a week better off in work than they would be on out-of-work benefits. If successful, this will be extended in 2009.
Childcare
The Government is committed to there being a childcare place for all children aged 3–14 in England, for parents who want one, between 8am and 6pm all year round by 2010. Jobcentre Plus advisers can support lone parents find appropriate and affordable childcare to help them move into paid work.
The Government has invested well over £25 billion in childcare and early years since 1997 and the number of registered childcare places in England has doubled to more than 1.3 million.
The Childcare Act 2006 places a duty on all local authorities in England and Wales to secure, where practicable, sufficient childcare to meet the needs of working parents, with particular regard for those on low incomes and who have disabled children.
The Scottish Government recently published “The Early Years Framework”, which includes a key objective of ensuring that parents in Scotland are supported to access employment and training to help reduce the risk of child poverty, including through the provision of flexible, accessible and affordable childcare.
- The Early Years Framework (Scottish Government website)
Flexible working
On 26 August 2008 the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) published a consultation on how to extend the right to request flexible working to parents of children aged 16 and under. The consultation closed on 18 November 2008.
- Extending the right to request flexible working to parents of older children (links to the BERR website).
