'In Work - Better Off': Lone Parents and Employment Conditionality

enable javascript

'In Work - Better Off': Lone Parents and Employment Conditionality - Initial response

August 2007

Is conditionality justified?

90 per cent of lone parents want to work when the time is right for them and their children; but
Government has repeatedly emphasised that parents are must be allowed to make the choice about when this time is: As Ed Balls told the Daycare Trust conference in June, reiterating the rhetoric contained in the Government's ten year childcare strategy, "Staying at home or returning to work must be a choice for parents, and our role is to make that a real choice - to make both staying at home and returning to work practical and realistic, so that parents can do what is best for them and their children." i
This view is clearly reflected in the Government's approach to workless couples. The 'second earner' in a couple with children claiming Jobseeker's Allowance will be required to take part in six monthly work focused interviews, but will not be asked to be available for work. The poverty risk for workless couples is 74 per cent, very close to the 75 per cent risk of poverty for workless lone parents. ii
The IPPR have also highlighted this tension in the Government's thinking, suggesting that "Individuals' labour market responsibilities must be understood in a way that takes into account the non market care work they also perform. However it is not possible to reduce this matter to a simple formula, nor see the age of someone's children or their family structure as the only defining factors' iii

Download the full response as a PDF below.

i Ed Balls, speech to Daycare Trust, 17 th June 2007.

ii Figures from Households Below Average Income 200506

iii White S and Cook G (2007) Taking Responsibility - A Fair Welfare Contract IPPR.


	Account
	Log In Register (new user)





Lone parents caring for a child with a disability or long- term health problem

	Resources
	Print Page E-mail Page Advanced Search Shopping Cart Links WWW One Parent Families Scotland Parentline Plus Links this site One Parent Families Manchester Links WWW Back to Signposter Office Contact One Parent Families\| Gingerbread 255 Kentish Town Road London NW5 2LX Helpline: 0800 018 5026 Tel: 020 7428 5400 Fax: 020 7482 4851 Click to email us Note: we cannot answer emails seeking personal advice. Please refer to the Helpline. Helpline Number - 0800 018 5026 Calls are FREE from landlines. Mobile rates vary. Get Adobe Reader

The National Council for One Parent Families is a registered charity no: 230750

and a company limited by guarantee and registered in London no: 402748.

VAT number 587315610. View our privacy policy and our disclaimer.

If you have any comments on this web site please send them to

Design & development by Engino 2003 - 2008