8 February 2006 - More help to get lone parents back into work as successful pilots are rolled out to Scotland and Wales
A pilot scheme to help lone parents back into work will be extended into Scotland and Wales, announced Margaret Hodge, Minister for Employment and Welfare Reform today.
Speaking at a visit to the Robert Owen Early Years Centre in Greenwich, site of one of the existing pilots, Margaret Hodge said:
“These pilots give a clear example of how the Welfare State will be better able to offer people the help and support that is needed to get them back into work. We have made real progress and I am pleased to announce we are extending the pilots into Wales and Scotland.
“The pilot here in South East London has been a success – during the first 3 months of operation over 250 lone parents have found work, with over 1,000 moving into jobs in the five pilot areas – and the feedback we have had from both Jobcentre Plus personal advisers and lone parents has been positive.
“We are determined to tackle the evils of child poverty, and break into the cycle of intergenerational poverty, by giving all children better opportunities. Paid employment helps families and individuals as well as improving life chances for children.
“The Welfare Reform Green Paper sets out further steps and new proposals to help lone parents including more regular contact with advisers through more work focused interviews, and we will pilot a new financial benefit - the work related activity premium - which will be an incentive for those with older children to prepare for a return to work.
“This is not about forcing lone parents into the work place as there will be people in circumstances where this is not the right or appropriate course of action, but where it is, there will be measures in place that can help people who may have felt as though the State wasn’t responding to their needs.
“Whilst a record number of lone parents are in work, we want to see that figure increase to 70% of lone parents. This will lift an additional 300,000 children out of low income and will help us achieve our goal of halving child poverty by 2010.”
The pilots bring together a range of support to help lone parents overcome the barriers they may face when attempting to move back into employment, including:
- ongoing support from a Jobcentre Plus personal adviser prior to and during the transition into work;
- financial support, including: the In-Work Credit, a payment of £40 a week to eligible lone parents who move from benefit into work; the Work Search Premium, a £20 a week payment for eligible lone parents who agree to undertake more intensive steps to find work; and the In-Work Emergency Fund (IWEF) to help lone parents meet unexpected costs during the first two months of starting employment;
- more help with childcare;
- training opportunities, including flexible training provision and the payment of a training premium for NDLP participants; and
- opportunities for taking steps to move closer to work to build confidence, such as mentoring.
Notes to editors
- The New Deal for Lone Parents Plus (NDLP+) pilots will be extended into two further Jobcentre Plus districts in Scotland (Edinburgh, Lothian and Borders) and Wales (The former Cardiff and Vale sites within the new, enlarged SE Wales) from October 2006.
- The five existing pilots are in: Bradford; Leicester; Dudley and Sandwell; North London; and South East London. These were launched in April 2005.
- The New Deal for Lone Parents (NDLP) was launched nationally in 1998, and from November 2001 extended to all lone parents who are not working or who work less than 16 hours per week.
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