Prime minister Tony Blair said that from next month, sanctions in the New Deal for Lone Parents will include compulsory work-focused interviews for all those with children aged five and over. From October the rule will be extended to all lone parents, including those with children under five. Attending interview is part of the process of claiming income support and anyone failing to attend could lose benefits.
Although claimants will not be obliged to take a job, pressure groups fear this is a move toward compulsory employment for lone parents. Child Poverty Action Group director Martin Barnes said, 'We are concerned that compulsion and the use of benefit sanctions are to be stepped up. The stick of compulsion should not be used until affordable and accessible childcare and genuine full employment are a reality.'
National Early Years Network assistant chief executive Irene Pilia said, 'It appears to be supportive of single parents but the impact on children may not be as positive. The children of one-parent families need their mothers or fathers and are at a vulnerable stage when they are starting school. It is a fragile time for children and too many changes are not in their best interests.
'In itself it may seem a fairly innocuous policy and it is good to give people the experience of job interviews if they are long-term unemployed. ' A spokeswoman for Gingerbread said, 'We believe lone parents should have the choice about when and whether to return to work, depending on what they consider to be in the best interests of their children. Lone parents should be aware that although they have to attend an interview, this will involve listening to information on work and answering some questions only; they will not be compelled to take work.'
