26 October 2009

From today lone parents with children aged ten and over will start to get help to look for work rather than stay on benefits. New Government regulations will also make clear they can look for part time work or jobs that fit with school hours to ensure family friendly welfare reforms.

Lone parents whose child is aged ten or over will move onto Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) if they are able work, rather than Income Support. On JSA they will benefit from a comprehensive range of support including training opportunities, job application advice, interviews with specialist advisers and other financial grants to help them return to work.  They will also receive advice on childcare, benefits and part-time or family friendly working from specialist advisers through the New Deal for Lone Parents which has already helped over 600,000 parents into work. Lone parents with a health condition or disability which limits their capability for work will be able to claim Employment and Support Allowance (ESA).

Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Yvette Cooper said:

"Already 80 per cent of all lone parents are either working or would like to work. And we know it’s much better for families if parents can work. That's why we are changing the rules for parents with older children in school to help them find work.

"But parents also need extra support and welfare reforms must be family friendly too. That’s why we’re increasing employment support through schools and children’s centres as well as through the New Deal for Lone Parents. It’s essential that everyone gets the personal help and advice they need on things like child care and training.

"Many parents also want to work part-time so they can pick their kids up from school or make sure they do their homework. So we’re making it easier for parents to look for jobs that fit with school hours - both through regulations and developing changes to Jobcentres too."

The Government is changing the regulations to ensure that lone parents can look for work that is part-time or fits around school hours.

Three in five lone parents already work by the time their youngest child reaches ten - a figure which has been rising steadily over the past decade. The proportion of lone parents in work has continued to increase even during the recession.

According to the latest Household Labour Force Survey (2009 Q2), around 80 per cent of all lone parents and around 70 per cent of lone parents with a youngest child under the age of seven are either working or would like to work.

The Government plans to help more people off benefits and into work in a way that supports families. Welfare reforms provide for support and activity to increase gradually as children grow up. Lone parents with older children are expected to seek work. But those with younger children are not expected to seek work, and instead are expected to gradually do more as their child gets older to prepare for work in future. Further family friendly changes to welfare reforms include:

• Primary legislation ensures reforms must support the well-being of the child.
• Lone parents with children under seven will not be required to seek work
• Lone parents with younger children who need to take up work related activity (such as preparing a CV, finding out about training courses or work experience) will be able to restrict their activity to term-time school or nursery school hours.
• Lone parents with a child under the age of one will no longer be required to attend mandatory work-focused interviews, but can access the available support to help them into work if they wish.

The Government is also working to develop new ways for parents to be able to find out about part-time jobs and family friendly jobs in their area, and further work with employers to promote more high quality part-time jobs.

Jobcentre Plus will contact lone parents before their Income Support is due to stop and invite them to an interview to explain the changes and how to make a claim for another benefit.

Notes to Editors:

1. The Green Paper, A New Deal for Welfare: Empowering people to work, published by John Hutton in January 2006 first discussed these proposals.
2. These changes are being phased over three years and apply only to those claiming solely on the grounds of being a lone parent:
   •  From 24 November 2008, if a lone parent’s youngest child is aged 12 or over, or would have been 12 in the next year, their Income Support may stop during that year.
   • From 26 October 2009, if a lone parent’s youngest child is aged ten or over, or will be ten in the next year, their Income Support may stop during that year.
   • From 25 October 2010, if a lone parent’s youngest child is aged seven or over, or will be seven in the next year, their Income Support may stop during that year.
3. For more information visit www.direct.gov.uk

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