Child welfare reforms helping parents into work

Jan 28 2008 By Samantha Castle

SINCE new plans for welfare reform which focus on getting lone parents off benefits and into the workforce were unveiled last year, general opposition has fallen silent.

The radical overhaul of the welfare system aimed at achieving full employment and eradicating child poverty was announced by Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Peter Hain when he published an implementation plan.

Single parents will have to seek work to get benefits once their youngest child is seven as of 2010, under the welfare changes. At the moment single parents do not have to seek work to get benefits until their youngest child is 16. That age is to fall to 12 as from this October, and then seven from October 2010.

According to Mr Hain children of unemployed lone parents were five times more likely to be in poverty than children of lone parents in full-time jobs.

The plan will include helping 300,000 lone parents on benefits improve and develop their skills and get into work so they can boost their family income and lift their children out of poverty.

A pre-employment support package for lone parents will provide support to those whose youngest child is aged 11 or over, so they can begin to prepare for a return to work, develop their skills and understand how the local labour market works.

St Gwynan’s parish hall in Dwygyfylchi runs a popular Parent and Toddler group, and although not a lone parent herself group organiser Lesley believes the welfare reforms are generally a good idea.

"I work one day a week, which is just enough to pay for the child care, but I also have a partner to help support me so I can only imagine how hard it must be for a lone parent," she said.

"However if the Government is willing to install a complete help package to encourage people back to work I can’t see how it could fail. Most single parents I know want to return to work once the children are in school, although I realise there are some single-parent action groups who say trying to force people into jobs could be counter-productive. Time will tell."