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Budget submission 2005: Ensure that employment policy can deliver the 70% target
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March 2005 The rate of lone parent employment has risen substantially since 1997 and now stands at 55.8%. Yet while these increases have been substantial, the rate will need to increase faster if the Government is to reach its ambitious target to have 70% of lone parents in employment by 2010. [1]
Moreover the client group for interventions looks likely to be increasingly made up of those lone parents who face more substantial barriers to work, yet these are the group who the New Deal for Lone Parents (NDLP) has to date served least well. [2]
Increasing the lone parent employment rate still further will require an effective, high quality service, which offers support to lone parents towards, into and within work.
We believe that the reforms set out in the Department for Work and Pensions Five Year Plan have some potential, particularly the extension of the ‘in work credit’ and the promise of ongoing support for those in work. However the effectiveness of these policies will depend very much on the detail and the delivery, which we will be monitoring carefully. Moreover the reforms set out in the 5-year plan are small in scale. Meeting the lone parent employment target will require much more effective delivery of existing programmes, alongside new innovations in policy.
To this end we recommend: - Ensuring that front line staff within Jobcentre Plus are protected in the projected staff reductions. Delivering the lone parent employment target will require that a greater number of lone parents access the New Deal for Lone Parents. An increase rather than decrease in front line staff will therefore be necessary. At present we have no confidence that Jobcentre Plus will be able to deliver both significant staff reductions and an increase in the lone parent employment rate.
- Considering the re-centralisation of NDLP management. Since management of NDLP has been decentralised we have seen significant declines in staff quality and motivation; we believe that there is now a case for a reconsideration of how this cadre of advisers is organised. In the absence of this we believe that training for managers of NDLP advisers in lone parent issues is essential.
- Piloting a revised target regime for lone parents to encourage advisers to help those lone parents who are furthest from work. Evaluation has shown that the target system acts as a disincentive for advisers to help those lone parents who are least work ready. [3] We believe that Jobcentre Plus should pilot a revised target scheme, which rewards advisers for helping lone parents take steps towards work, including training and voluntary work.
- Ensuring that lone parents who are out of work but not on Income Support will be encouraged to participate in employment programmes. With the introduction of new tax credits a substantial minority of lone parents[4] who have some independent income – for example from child maintenance – will be lifted off Income Support – although they may not be in work. At present all work focussed interventions – and incentives to enter work – are targeted at those receiving Income Support. Steps must be taken to ensure that this new group are not left out.
- Ensure that the ‘better off’ calculations received by lone parents are accurate. At present the software used to calculate entitlement to in-work benefits cannot take into account any tax credits that previously have been received by that person, including any overpayments that are being recovered – and therefore cannot give an accurate picture of a person’s real entitlement. The accuracy of the ‘better off’ calculation is a critical part of ensuring that a lone parent feels confident about moving into work. At present this confidence is being undermined by the failure to develop software that can perform this calculation.
- Considering the greater use of supported work placements as part of any programme of pre-employment support. One Parent Families, in conjunction with Marks and Spencer, is currently running a programme of this type which provides parents with a combination of 3-day intensive employability training and a 2-week work placement in a Marks and Spencer store. Results to date have been extremely promising, with around 50% of participants moving into jobs, with both Marks and Spencer and other employers.
[1] Berthoud R – Lone parents and jobs – Can the 70% target be met? in Thurley D ed (2003) Working to Target: Can Policies deliver paid work for seven in ten lone parents? OPF. [2] Millar J and Evans M ed. (2003) Lone parents and employment: International comparisons of what works DWP. [3] Thomas A and Jones G (2003) Lone parent personal adviser meetings: qualitative evaluation and case studies on delivery of six monthly review meetings DWP [4] The latest estimates suggest that around 7000 people will be floated off Income Support. However lone parents who are applying for Income Support and have some other income at present will not be included in this number.
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