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Friday, November 21, 2008, 09:28
Currently, single parents with a youngest child under 16 can claim income support without having to show they are seeking work.
But from next week, lone parents with a youngest child of 12 or over who apply for income support will be put on Jobseekers’ Allowance and expected to look for work or face sanctions, including having their benefits cut by up to 40%.
Only those with disabled or sick children will be exempt.
By 2010, the rule will be extended to lone parents with a youngest child aged seven or over.
Work and Pension Secretary James Purnell, pictured, today rejected calls for a delay.
“What we require people to do is come in and take up that help and when I talk to people about it they say: why didn’t you make me do this earlier because it has changed my life.”
What do you think about the proposed changes to benefits? Should lone parents do more to find work?
Do benefits discourage lone parents from going back to work? Should claimants be amde to take jobs which may mean they are less well off than they would be on benefits?
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