Government introduces new lone parent rules

The Government has introduced new regulations to switch any lone parent whose youngest child is 10 or 11 years old from Income Support to Jobseekers’ Allowance, which comes with stricter conditions attached.The allowance is paid at the same rate, £64.30 per week, but requires claimants to attend fortnightly interviews and show they have applied for jobs, or they risk losing the benefit.

The government says it expects 75,000 single parents will be moved onto Jobseeker’s Allowance by the end of the year, and that by 2011, 270,000 single parents will be forced to look for work. The employment rate among single parents is 56.7%.

Lone-parent charity Gingerbread says it means they face benefit cuts if they do not look for work but ministers have not kept promises to help them do so.Chief executive Fiona Weir said: "The government promised single parents more support in return for tough work search conditions but the back up just isn't there."