lone parent employment andrew latto deputy director, child poverty

Lone parent employmentAndrew LattoDeputy Director, Child Poverty

Aims

To reduce the number of children in workless households.

To decrease the rate of child poverty.

To help parents provide a role model for their children.

To increase the confidence, well-being and self-sufficiency of parents.

To increase the supply of skills available to employers.

To reduce benefit expenditure.

Lone parent benefit rules

Working under 16 hours and youngest child under 7: Income Support or ESA with Work-Focussed Interviews. If choose contributory JSA, then required to seek work within school hours.

Working under 16 hours and youngest child 7-12: required to seek work within school hours, or to claim ESA via medical assessment. Income Support continues for parents of disabled children.

Working 16 hours or more: Working Tax Credit (including childcare element) and, if eligible, In Work Credit. Childcare costs disregarded in Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit.

Early 2012: age lowered to 5, subject to Welfare Reform Bill.

Late 2013: Universal Credit, age 5 remains, 16-hour rule removed.

Childcare

Free childcare offer for 3/4-year-olds and disadvantaged 2-year-olds.

Jobcentre Plus pays childcare costs for training, work experience etc.

£2 billion from current tax credit/benefit system retained in Universal Credit. Take-up will be higher, e.g. automatic link to housing support. Working Tax Credit currently 70% of up to £175 for one child or £300 for two or more. High % tends to be better for first jobs, high upper limit for those wishing to increase hours. High % tends to be better for school-age, high upper limit for under-3s. Current discussion in context of Welfare Reform Bill.

Flexible working

Consultation currently underway on ways of extending flexible working (Vince Cable/Iain Duncan Smith). Ends 8th August.

Key aspect not so much legislation (although removes stigma of asking) as culture change (parental leave) and hard business case (Employer Group).

As now, lone parents in Universal Credit will be able to restrict their availability for work to school hours. Same obligations will apply to couple parents.

Employment support

New Deal for Lone Parents closed at the end of March 2011. The funding has been transferred into the Jobcentre Plus Offer. Mostly aimed at those with children under 8.

Lone parents in the Work Programme in 2011 will be:- those who have been claiming JSA for a year or more (mandatory);- those with children 5+ in the ESA work-related activity group (mandatory);- those in England claiming Income Support (voluntary).

Those with children under 13 can restrict activity to school hours.

Lone Parent Obligations: evaluation findings

Dr. Jo Casebourne, Director of ResearchCentre for Economic and Social Inclusion

• Introduction• Overview of LPO• Evaluation• Methodology• Findings from lone parents with younger

children before IS ends• Findings from lone parents with older

children after IS• Implications for the future• Next steps

Presentation structure

Changes to lone parent eligibility for IS• Multi phased roll-out for existing IS

customers• New and repeat customerso Youngest child aged 12 or

over from Nov 2008o Youngest child aged 10 or

over from Oct 2009o Youngest child aged 7 or over

from Oct 2010o Youngest child aged 5 or over

from early 2012

Additional changes to support LPO• JSA Parent Flexibilities• National roll-out of In-Work Credit

Overview of LPO

Overarching evaluation aim• To explore the extent to which LPO

incentivises and supports lone parents to look for and enter paid work

Multi methods evaluation including:• International literature review• Qualitative research with customers and staff• Quantitative survey with customers• Possible impact assessment• In-house analysis of DWP admin data and

other data sources

Evaluation

Methodology

Qualitative destinations study

• 202 lone parents with youngest child aged 12-15

• Jan-Mar 2010• 5 case studies• After IS eligibility ended• 55 staff

Methodology

Quantitative survey

• 2,779 lone parents with youngest child aged 7-8

• May-Aug 2010• National • In final year of IS eligibility

Lone parents with younger children before IS ends

Barriers to work• This group shows greater levels of need

than lone parents in the populationo qualifications, mobility, finance

• Needs are complex and wide-ranging

Summary of findings: LPs with younger children before IS ends

Summary of findings: LPs with younger children before IS endsChildcare preferences• Current emphasis is on informal childcare

(as is the case for other parents)• But there is some use of school-based

childcare, and interest in using breakfast/ after school clubs and holiday clubs in the future

• Ex-partner also plays an important role

Moving into work• Most are either looking for work or would like

to work in the next few years• Preference is for part-time work (16-29 hours

per week)o Work that fits around family commitments and

other constraints (e.g. health, transport)o But limited or no recent work experience, lack

of skills; limited jobsearch activityo Lone parents feel there is a shortage of

appropriate worko Challenge to move into preferred type of work

Summary of findings: LPs with younger children before IS ends

Lone parents with older children after IS

Complex journeys• Multiple destinations were common since

leaving IS• Most complex and difficult journeys involved

ESA• Lone parents with health problems in all

destinations (ESA, JSA, IB, IS)

Summary of findings: LPs with older children after IS


Moving into work• Work is positive• Combining work and family could be

stressful• Better off between 16-29 hours• Evidencing mini-jobs whilst on JSA complex

Experiences of JSA• A good understanding of JSA regime• Self-help stage viewed more positively by

new and repeat lone parents (than those previously on IS)

• Claiming JSA could be uncomfortable/demanding

• Involvement of specialist staff delivering to lone parents on JSA beneficial



Experiences of JSA• New and repeat lone parents were not

always identified as lone parents• Understood principle of sanctions, less

understanding of detail• Reluctance amongst staff to sanction lone

parents

Experiences of ESA• Much less understanding of ESA regime than

JSA• Not aware of ESA groups or assessment• Payment gaps as didn’t understand regime

requirements• Regime not experienced as coherent process• Lack of understanding of what to do when

found fit for work – payment gaps• Face the same health issues once on JSA with

less support – should not be treated as new and repeat


Experiences of other destinations• Disconnected families not an issue• Range of circumstances eg re-partneringExperiences of remaining on IS• Exemptions from IS• No suggestions people were having children

or taking on caring to remain on IS


Effect of LPO on attitudes to work• Greatest effect for those moved directly from

IS to JSA• Dislike JSA regime – a push towards work• New and repeat customers often made

redundant and already motivated• ESA customers main short-term focus was

health not work• Did not impact on other groups


Childcare• Preference for informal childcare• Gaps for older children• Special needs• Cost and availability


Implications for the future

Personalised support• The diverse and complex needs and barriers

of this group of lone parents confirm the need for personalised support

Role of training• Survey indicated a lack of skills and

qualifications amongst many lone parents• Participation in training may also be a way of

giving experience of formal childcare (where available free)

Childcare• Demand may go up as those with younger

children move into work – depends on job


Family-friendly employers• Mixed picture from survey• Suggests that DWP and Jobcentre Plus need to

continue to work with local employers to promote family friendly workplaces

Potential role for Child Maintenance Options Service

• Survey indicates the important role played by ex-partner in childcare provision

• Options Service can provide advice on maintenance arrangements to enhance lone parents’ work options

• Wider role includes advice on financial management and debt – also an important issue raised by the survey


Most want to work 16-29 hours per week, often exactly 16•This is likely to reflect current system•Will gradual tapering change lone parents’ preferences?Many respondents were not sure they would be better off in work (40% said this was a big barrier to work)•Universal credit should address this• But this is only one of many barriers• At present, balance between work and family

comes under pressure when working 16+ hours per week (i.e. number of hours not just a financial decision)

Implications for Universal Credit

Implications for Universal Credit

A barrier to staying in work was ‘finding it hard to adjust to having money coming in every month rather than every week’•Budgeting support will be important

Next steps

Further qualitative research• Currently interviewing 60 lone parents in 3 case study

areas• Focus on sanctions and JSA regime• Youngest child aged 7• Report in autumn 2011

Further quantitative research• Follow-up survey in 2012• Youngest child aged 7-8

Contact details

Dr. Jo Casebourne

0207 840 8347 [email protected]

Any questions?

Returning to work: what do single parents think?

Caroline Davey Director of Policy, Advice &

Communications

“I’d do anything if it fitted around my hours, because then I’d be happier and less stressed, so it’d be

worth it for the employer”

“I am too qualified for my current position but due to the lack of flexibility in my career and no access to childcare I am unable to work in a higher paid job

and still give my son a stable home life”

“When I went to the JobCentre she told me yet again about the cleaning services at the hospital. I’ve got

a degree, why would I want to do that?”

“It’s more important for me to be in a job, no matter what job it is. I just need to earn money”

Context 1.9 million single parents in the UK

– 57% are in work

– 44% of single mothers in employment work over 30 hrs/week

Employment rates vary by age of youngest child– 71% work by the time youngest child is 12

– 38% work when youngest child is 2

Work not necessarily a route out of poverty– 19% of children whose single parent works full-time

live in poverty

– 25% of children whose single parent works part-time

Priorities Overriding priority: balance work and parenting Key issues to address:

– Childcare

– Income – better off in work

– Availability of appropriate jobs – flexibility in range of jobs and at range of levels

– [For some single parents] Pre-employment support

– Genuinely tailored approach

Childcare Challenge of both supply and affordability:

– “Most nurseries are shut after 6pm and don’t open before 8am. [This is] no good if you work shift patterns, which in today’s increasingly 24/7 society is fast becoming the norm in many professions”

– “I would like a job with more hours but I can’t find one because there are no childcare arrangements for before or after school for my eldest two”

– “Childcare’s really expensive…What I’m paying for nursery – even with working tax credits – is still a fortune”

Serious question over impact of (likely) reduced Universal Credit provision of childcare costs support

Income Importance of income

– “It’s more important for me to be in a job, no matter what job it is. I just need to earn money”

Combination of in-work costs (including childcare) and low incomes means gains from work can be very marginal– “I used to be paying out as much on childcare as I

earned”

Importance of income now as well as prospects for income in the future– “If you pick wrong now that could be the rest of your

life spoken for”

Jobs Perception – and reality – that flexible/part-time

jobs equate to lower level/lower income– “There is the perception that part time workers do not

make the same level of contribution and add the same value as full time staff because we are not there all the time. I think there has been some progress with flexible working, but not enough”

– “You should have the option not to dumb down just because you want shorter hours”

– “I have now opted to work on a very low salary for the council just because they agreed to give me flexible hours and don’t make me feel like a burden every time I have to take time off for my children”

Pre-employment support

Gingerbread provides pre-employment training to single parents who are furthest from labour market

Importance of:– Self-esteem/building confidence

– Familiarisation with workplace

– Developing skills

– Entry-level jobs which can also provide opportunities for ongoing training, development and progression

– Not just about getting into a job, but retention and progression

Tailored approach Difference between theory and practice – need for

consistent approach within job support that takes account of LPO rules and flexibilities

Recent Gingerbread helpline calls:– Caller has just moved onto JSA from IS, has a child under 11.

She is having difficulty with JCP as she wants to restrict to school hours but they say that she has to look for work between 9-5, five days a week. They have also told her that she has to be available to start work within 24 hours.

– Caller is on IS and has 14 month old child. Her LP adviser at the JCP has told her that she has to look for work of 16 hours a week and if she does not get a job then he can stop her money. He says that new legislation is coming in that will force her to take any job that he feels she can do regardless of hours.

Conclusions Single parents are different – need genuinely

tailored approach to account for different needs, circumstances and aspirations

Overriding priority is to balance work and parenting responsibilities

Money is important! Net gains from work especially after childcare costs – and particular concerns over recent tax credit cut and UC proposals

Need for flexible support and – critically – access to a broader range of flexible jobs

“I couldn’t give up work because I’ve worked since I left school. I

want to work. It’s about your self-worth”

lone parent employment andrew latto deputy director, child poverty

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