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Original poster

Change in benefits for Lone Parents

225 replies

MsPontipine · 04/03/2008 14:09

I went to my annual LP advisor meeting at the JobCentre today - was rather stunned by the proposed but very likely changes.

It was a bit much to take in but basically by 2010 I think lone parents with youngest child 12 or older will no longer be able to claim Income Support on LP grounds and will be required to sign on and claim Jobseekers Allowance and look for work.

Another couple of years and that age will be reduced to 7.

There are various incentives, grants etc but that appears to be the long and short of it.

I was pretty stunned - mostly I think because this is the first I've heard of this. I am not an avid news watcher but I'm not a complete ostrich.

Food for thought. . . . . .

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Remotew · 05/03/2008 15:03

I agree, I think its should be illegal for them to claw back money that they have cocked up and overpaid in the first place.

Again there was mass fraud in the beginning so I suppose it was the genuine mistake claimants that they targetted to get some money back for their incompetence. I think some of the issues have been addressed. I know I ended up with a DD in their favour and I had no idea I'd been overpaid. Dont get a lot anyway but every little helps.

Remotew · 05/03/2008 15:06

When I said DD I meant of course direct debit

VictorianSqualor · 05/03/2008 15:08

Don't get me started on TC! I really don't see how it works basing everything on last year, so we were getting about £500 a month but then it goes down to about £200 in April.

skyatnight · 05/03/2008 15:11

I agree about tax credits. HMRC issues booklets with advice on how to work out your tax credit entitlement. It is a bit complicated but I thought I could work it out and that most people would be able to.

Why is it then, that when you get the letter from them, it is always different to what you worked out? There must be something sneaky about it. They work it out based on days and do the calculation slightly differently to the workings shown in the booklet. I suspect that they make so many mistakes that they cannot afford for it to be clear and transparent.

madamez · 05/03/2008 15:12

Telling single parents to go out and get jobs is all very well: now try to force employers into not discriminating against parents, not insisting on 'flexibility' ie loads of unpaid overtime with no notice, getting rid of the 'zero hours' contract which mean you never know when you're going to be called into work or how much you are going to earn each week...

VictorianSqualor · 05/03/2008 15:16

madamez, I can only hope that lone parents being 'told' to go to work will be able to stipulate what hours/contracts they can/will take as employment so are only 'forced' into a job that is suitable for a lone parent trying to bring up a family.

skyatnight · 05/03/2008 15:35

I hope you are right, VS. There aren't that many of these flexible jobs around (particularly in rural areas) and, obviously, there is competition from two-parent-family mothers for those that there are.

Thread from 'In The News' last week:
Half of mothers end up in jobs where you don't even need A levels...makes me so cross

Old thread that I mentioned re. the topic of this thread:
"Single mothers with secondary school children should seek work" - BBC news this am.

expatinscotland · 05/03/2008 15:37

Very true, sky, about rural areas.

Rural areas also have the disadvantage of limited or even no public transport.

So the lone parent will also need a driving license and the wherewithal to run a car in order to meet employer 'flexibility'.

I don't understand why the government doesn't go after employers and fix tax credits first?

Maybe because vulnerable groups of people are a softer target.

KerryMum · 05/03/2008 15:40

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

VictorianSqualor · 05/03/2008 15:40

True, I'm sure there will be some who are doing everything to go back to work and others who use every excuse not to though.
Either way it's going to be those who are willing to work that get shafted.

When I was a lone parent I used to have to walk miles (well 45minutes) to my DD's school, then(2o mins) DS's nursery then to work, as no bus covered the route. Then back again after work, only to hear people whose children were teens and were sat at home on IS moaning about being bored or not having money and how they couldn't possibly find a job etc.

Some people really just don't want to work, and those that do are probably already working, so the change is really aimed at the people who don't want to, yet will affect those that try.

NotDoingTheHousework · 05/03/2008 17:10

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

PersonalClown · 05/03/2008 17:24

Well I can tell you what happens if you have a disabled child.
They can offer you all the help with finding child care (if appropriate), hours to suit etc but they cannot make you work.
BUT this is only if you claim Carer's allowance for your child.
Parents claiming CA will still get Income Support if it is not suitable for them to work.
So my Lone parent advisor explained it to me.

littlewoman · 07/03/2008 01:27

Apologies, Lost Dad. I did not mean to offend, and the gender specifics were unnecessary. Nevertheless, it seems to me suspicious that, just as it is about to disband the csa, the government decides that lone parents must now work. Now if that is not discriminating against the resident/ custodial parent just becauase they can't be arsed to track down the absent parent, I don't know what is. It was never intended to be gender specific, and although you may always support your children, many many absent parents will not.
Would anybody dream of insisting that a sahm in a couple should go out to work? Or a sah dad? No, it is entirely a matter of choice for them. Yes we do decide to have children, and we do not often decide to live as single parents - these things just happen. But when they do, the onus of responsibility should not all fall on the shoulders of the parent already shouldering most of the care. Both parents decide to have children, not just the resident parent, therefore both should ensure that the children are well provided for. And it seems to me that, in this new scheme, absentee parents who shirk that responsibility are being let off scott free whilst lone parents must go out to work because they are easier to track down.

Tinkerbel6 · 07/03/2008 12:34

The government needs to sort out the tax credit mess before they force lone parent out to work, I take it aswell that they will also be targetting couples that are also sitting on Income Support and the single guys men and women on JSA

littlewoman · 10/03/2008 13:37

With you on that one tinkerbel.

lostdad · 10/03/2008 14:02

littlewoman - I'm not offended at all - I'm just a strong believer in sauce for the goose and vice versa!

For my part though, I feel cheated: My ex always regarded being a SAHM her job...meaning I had no choice but to be get a full time job. She wouldn't countenance being anything other than than a SAHM. I always missed my son (even before she left) while I worked to support them both, but being the complete mug I was...I did so.

The point is, I felt I had no choice.

When my ex left...she was the primary carer and it was used in court against me. She's a SAHM (albeit, living with her parents now) - but if she chose we could split caring for him between us - both of us working, both of us caring for him. Nothing would make me happier. I know for a fact that I could care him just as well as she could.

The point I am making is...she has a choice. I don't. Doesn't seem fair to me.

KatieScarlett2833 · 10/03/2008 16:41

Tinkerbel, you have got it in a nutshell.

Partners of those on JSA with a child under 16 do not have to be available for work at present.

But lone parents with a child aged 12 or over will have to from October.

Don't think they have thought this one through.

If you receive IS because you are sick or get Carers Allowance for someone else (not neccesarily a child), these rules don't apply and your IS will continue.

When you make your claim to JSA, you will be able to restrict the number of hours you are available to 16. (Is 40 for other non-carers). You will still be eligible for all New Deal for Lone Parent provision until your child is 16. After 12 months you will be referred to something called "flexible New Deal". I have no idea what this entails.

littlewoman · 10/03/2008 16:49

The court didn't ask us, they just gave us joint custody (even though I have them 6 days a week). Perhaps thats because neither of us contended anything. It isn't fair, you are right. Don't understand why she's being like that.

ivykaty44 · 10/03/2008 17:02

this will happen more often

Parenting is important - the goverment do not agree, a lone parent is thought of by the goverment as better leaving their dc with someone else to look after and they themselves should go to work outside the home.

When a child goes off the rails and is from a lone parent home - it the parents fault. How can it be the parents fault if they are never there to look after and bring up the child - they have been working and trying to bring up a child on their own - not an easy task.

rant over - calm thoughts

skyatnight · 10/03/2008 18:09

Agree with the 'katies'. It is important for children to see their parents working, setting a good example. But is it more important than ensuring that the parent is there to look after the child properly when they are needed?

The government's policy to get single parents working is at least as much about economics and GDP as it is about child welfare. There is not enough flexibility in the workplace and in the benefits system to ensure the best compromise for everyone concerned (children, parents, society).

KatieScarlett2833 · 10/03/2008 20:24

I agree sky. I will have to implement this policy and it makes me feel extremely uneasy. It's all about the money, not the kids or their parents IMO.

littlewoman · 21/03/2008 23:31

Ivy katy, you are so right. They are basically inventing jobs for carers, and our children will pay the price. (No offence to carers!!)

AMAZINWOMAN · 22/03/2008 07:53

I work, but only because I have been very lucky with childcare arrangments. Also my employers are brilliant too-not everyone is this lucky though

my son is 12 now-but there is NO childcare available at all. I have checked and double checked with my local council, internet, etc but all they can offer is a youth club 3 hours a day- 15 miles away!!!!

what am i supposed to do? im not happy about leaving him alone in the summer holidays. i have no family support,

i worry this policy is about winning votes and NOT what is best for the chidlren. It hasnt been thought through. A lot of jobs require shift work (nightmare as childcare by me is 8-6) and what about childcare, there sint enough affordable quality childcare

Flight · 22/03/2008 08:26

Reading this I'm glad I have a four year age gap between mine. I should be able to stay home till Ds1 is 11 if it's reduced to 7.
I was planning to home educate if necessary so that is a relief.

Maybe I'll have found a rich husband by the time they are both over 7

CrackerOfNuts · 22/03/2008 08:31

I agree with whoever it was that said that, it's ok forcing mothers to work, but what about making employers not discriminate against lone parents.

I have applied for a job at a local hotel, cleaning the rooms. I have done the job before, so technically I am over qualified as the ad said no experience needed.
However, I included the fact that I am a single parent, whilst answering one of the questions, and so I am pretty sure, I will never hear from them, even though I could do the job standing on my head.

The application form also asked how I would get to work each day, which I also think is unfair, as I bet if you put anything other than drive, they will discount the application.