Job support for single mums needs to improve, government told

27/10/2009

Many single mums are facing difficulties with getting back into the world of work, the Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) said today (October 27th).

A representative of the charity also urged the government to remove the "barriers" currently faced by loan parents who wanted to find a job.

The comments come in the wake of a benefits rule change affecting single parents with a youngest child aged ten or 11 years old, who will now receive Jobseekers Allowance rather than Income Support if they are on benefits.

This means that they must apply for jobs and attend fortnightly interviews at their local Jobcentre Plus.

Problems for single mums have increased due to the effects of the credit crunch and recession on the labour market.

Unemployment is at a 14-year high, leading to tougher competition for the jobs currently on offer from employers.

Kate Green, chief executive of CPAG, said: "Lone parents want to work, and this assumption that they need to be put onto a Jobseekers regime in order to coerce them we think is misplaced.

"We are anxious that barriers around childcare, cost of childcare, lone parents access to flexible jobs that can be fitted to family circumstances are really seen as the key issues to address."

Around 68,000 single parents will be affected by the rule change, according to charity Gingerbread.

Tags; Young Family Finances, Job loss,

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