28 October 2005 - Work Focused Interviews For Lone Parents
Lone parents will have to attend quarterly work focused interviews to help them keep in touch with the world of work, Margaret Hodge, Minister for Employment and Welfare Reform, said today.
From Monday, lone parents whose youngest child is 14 will be required to attend the interviews to get information, advice and guidance about choices open to them, as well as opportunities for work and the range of help on offer.
And lone parents in areas of the South East can also benefit from an extra £40 a week on top of their wages if they find work, as In Work Credit pilots became available in those parts of the country.
Margaret Hodge said programmes such as the New Deal for Lone Parents had already contributed to helping more than a million lone parents into work. The interviews and pilots would give even more people the chance to move closer into jobs.
“We know that giving lone parents the opportunity to talk through all their problems in work focused interviews is very effective in helping lone parents move into work. People’s circumstances change over time and it is important that we continue to see them on a regular basis to tell them about improvements in the package of help that is on offer,” she added.
The quarterly interviews will be mandatory for lone parents claiming Income Support when their youngest child reaches the age of 14.
Margaret Hodge said: “Helping lone parents to work when their children are older is important to both the parents and the children. Not only are the family better off, but work boosts the self esteem and confidence of parents.
“There are a record number of lone parents in work today, with the employment rate for this group now at 56.6 per cent - an increase of more than 11 percentage points since 1997. At the same time, the number of lone parents claiming benefits has gone down by 41,000 over the last year alone.”
Margaret Hodge said the In Work Credit pilots would give lone parents who have been on Income Support and moved into employment an extra £40 a week on top of their wages for a year.
“We know that some parents are worried about benefit changes when they move from benefits into jobs. We want to help ease the transition and make sure work pays and that lone parents reap the benefits that can be gained from working,” she added.
Margaret Hodge said the Welfare Reform Green Paper would also be focusing on ways to help lone parents work.
Notes To Editors:
- In Work Credit will now be available to lone parents who have been on Income Support for 12 months prior to moving into work in:
- Surrey and Sussex
- Essex
- Kent
- Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire
- Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire
- Hampshire and the Isle of Wight
The In Work Credit pilot is already available in Bradford, North London and South East London; Dudley and Sandwell; Lancashire West; Leeds; Leicestershire; Staffordshire; West London; Edinburgh, Lothians and Borders; Central London; and Cardiff and Vale.
- Work Focused Interviews will take place four times a year for eligible lone
parents across the country. They must be a lone parent who has been on IS for
12 months or more with dependent child(ren) living in their household, the
youngest of whom must be aged 14 or over.
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