John Battle MP Welcomes Extra Help for Single Parents

John Battle, Labour MP for Leeds West, welcomed a new initiative to help single parents who are looking for work.

Leeds is piloting a scheme giving extra cash to single parents while they are looking for work and extra help while they are in work.

The new Worksearch Premium of £20 a week on top of normal benefit entitlements, will assist single parents with their search for work, while the In-Work Credit will mean an extra £40 a week for the first year single parents are in work.

John Battle MP said ‘I know from speaking to single parents in my constituency that they can face difficult choices when seeking to balance work and caring responsibilities. The majority of single parents want to work but can find that the expense of finding a job prevents them from doing so. It will help many if benefits are kept going temporarily to cover the gap before the first pay packet arrives, the costs of travel to work, and perhaps new work clothes, plus of course childcare – as well as the help with childcare is already available through the Child Tax Credit."

“Parents shouldn’t be forced to get a job, but they should be given every help if they do want one. I welcome this new pilot initiative and trust it will help many of my constituents – and help achieve the Government’s aim of halving child poverty by 2010 and eradicating it by 2020. I look forward to seeing it go nationwide once it’s proved its worth in Leeds.”

“It also complements the excellent work of Sure Start Bramley and Sure Start Burley helping parents of young children get education, training and jobs – if they want to – working in partnership with West Leeds Family Learning Centre.”

The New Deal has helped 277,000 lone parents into work nationally, so far.

The DWP gave the following details:

1. Lone parents in Leeds will be eligible for the Work Search Premium (WSP) if they have been on Income Support or Jobseekers Allowance for more than a year and have joined the New Deal for Lone Parents. They will be required to complete an action plan and agree to follow a work search regime focused on the activities they will undertake to look for full time work of over 16 hours a week. They will also be required to attend fortnightly meetings with their Personal Adviser.

2. The WSP is payable for up to six months and is conditional on consistently seeking work, which will be monitored by the Personal Adviser.

3. Lone parents in this area will be eligible for the In-Work Credit if they have been on Income Support or Jobseekers Allowance (income based) for more than a year, have been on New Deal for Lone Parents and if they are starting work of at least 16 hours a week. The employment must be expected to last a minimum of five weeks. The In-Work Credit is payable for up to a year.

©John Battle MP 26 November 2004