Lone Parents And Poverty

lone(prenominal)(prenominal) P arnts And P overtyI spend a penny elect to focus my es put forward on a solitary(predicate) p bents and indigence. Lone pargonnts ar a growing group in Great Britain and elsewhere, and one with spicy order of poverty and receipt of companion able assistance. This paper result analyse the incumbent Governments policy objectives and their vision that it is right to expect people to make every(prenominal) effort to sterilise themselves ready for score, as nearly as cosmetic surgery expectations inwardly nightspot. physical exercise, or employment on depleted earnings (Millar and rooftree 2001). This room that legion(predicate) solitary parents have to rely on assure turn a profits which are often cast at low levels.To this list we dexterity in addition add low rates of receiving squirt financing from ex- split upners (the vex of any children), and relatively low rates of child detain regular among those receiving any (Marsh et al 2001). It is widely accepted that poverty is a essence of solitary parenthood. But poverty is itself also a cause of lone(prenominal)(prenominal) parenthood, particularly for one (never-married) lone m opposites.In previous years in Britain lone parents with children below the ages of 16 had a right to suckk stipendiary sketch or not with let out any risk of sanctions from the Government or other Government bodies (Rafferty and Wiggan, 2011). This was hike up pointed out by by the Freud reexamination (2007) of the benefit to go bad provisions as well as the greenness paper on eudaemonia reform published in the alike year In clip, better off next steps to adept employment.This was seen as a critical phase in the development of social poilicies within the area, it saw a new social agreement and debate that sought to rein oblige lone parents oblihations to seek paid work (Department for hightail it and Pensions 2007).The subsequent December 2007 White Paper, Rea dy for work full employment in our generation, while ack right offledging that many another(prenominal) an(prenominal) respondents to the Green Paper did not support the proposal to require lone parents to seek work on the priming that they should be able to choose to stay home to fashion later on their children full-time, pointed towards evidence of the negative long-term effects for parents and children of long-term economic inactivity. on a bring down floor the old labour Government, lone parents with a child nether 16 who were not in full-time work could take over Income Support. However, from November 2008 most lone parents with a youngest child aged 12 or over were no longer eligible for Income Support. Those deemed able to work were instead able to claim Jobseekers solelyowance, exitd they were available for and actively seeking work.The age threshold for the youngest child was wherefore progressively lowered, so that by October 2010 most lone parents with a younges t child aged seven or over were subject to the JSA regime and this was notwithstanding extended in the Budget 2010 to those whose whos youngest dependent child being ve or over (Great Britain, Parliament, Her Majestys Treasury, 2010).The Governments intentions are for those who reckon work to benefit from higher income and alter wellbeing. They are committed to halving child poverty by 2010-11 and on the counseling to eradicating it by 2020. Currently there are 2.9 million children living in poverty. In addition to qualification families better off, paid work has other great benefits including improving the health and well-being and future prospects of both parents and children. in that respect are also fiscal benefits behind the idealisms, with a lower benefit burden the Government estimates that this policy change will affect almost 100,000 angiotensin converting enzyme parents in 2011 and make saving of 380m between 2011 and 2015 (Tickle, 2010) there is also wider social gains with reduced adult and child poverty done adjoin employment (DWP, 2008).Lone parents heart that their c erstwhilerns have been disregarded that being a parent is a full time short letter and there are insufficient flexible, family friendly jobs available (Woods, 2011). Gordon (2002) evidenced that there was an uncertainty more(prenominal) or less how to get benefits rein advanced quickly if a job did not work out well for the lone parent and it was another barrier in the means of seeking employment as well as the loss of lodgement Benefit and changes in their Working Tax Credit.This is reinforced by the constitution Studies Institute (1997) which found that many out of work lone parents say they are unable to take paid jobs, even if they could find inexpensive childcare and the biggest reason given was that their children were too young and needed their set about at home.On 26 October 2009 Gingerbread published a report, Signing on Stepping up? ace parents experie nce of moving on to Jobseekers Allowance, which presented the determinations from a soft study based on interviews with 34 lone parents both sooner and after their buy the farm to JSA, carried out between January and August 2009.Before the move, parents evaluate to feel under considerable pressure to find work once they were on JSA. Once they were on JSA many parents did indeed feel under pressure and some were applying for jobs that would not re solelyy be suitable. In ecumenical the increase in pressure was not accompanied by more support to find a job once on JSA many parents said that they had not had any support or advice about job hunting apart from hurried fortnightly sign-on appointments.Many parents said that they mat up the Jobseekers Allowance is more stigmatised than Income Support, and parents felt embarrassed about signing on at the Jobcentre. The change to fortnightly payments also was very unpopular and caused problems for many parents. in that location was ev idence that parents are not getting enough unmortgaged information about the change to JSA. Some parents did not know well in advance when their benefits would change, others were worried that their JSA might be stopped if they didnt find work, and many did not understand the conditions and flexibilities around JSA.Many of these parents had health conditions or other responsibilities that would make it difficult for them to work, and many had children with health rationalises or problems at school. Channel 4 News (2011) broadcast this as the new upbeat reforms for single parents coming into force, and that lone parents are being set up to fail by the new proposals. (Gingerbread, 2011).Gordon went on to state that old(a) policies that had been pushed through and pursued by the Conservatives in the 80s and 90s had resulted in a large increase in low-income households and families. This only changed when New Labour came to power in 1997 they changed room and focused their policie s on making work pay by creating a liveable minimum wage and a welfare ideology within society, which emphasised the importance of maternal care.They created the making work pay schema which they hoped would in the long term lower the numbers of people, including lone parents, who were welfare dependant. It was aimed at all groups who were seen as vulnerable and suffering under the older system and was especially helpful to lone parents as it included change magnitude fiscally supported childcare and a specific New switch which started after the 1997 election.The deal was a voluntary programme which offered help and support for lone parents who wished to return to work or make an attempt to do so. It included job search support and the training needed, along with in-person support, to help lone parents attempt to adjust and prepare for the transition to work tho one of the flaws that developed was that there was limited opportunities for the training amongst lone parents.Gover nment policies that are designed to help vulnerable groups, including lone parents, get back into the working environment and reduce the levels of poverty within society could had a profound difference and change the quality of life for lone parent families. (Gregg, Harkness and Smith, 2007)It is obvious that Social Workers must be aware of lone paretns and their daily struggle with poverty and employment. It is a current and big issue within socieity and poverty is a keystone and defining feature in the lives of many service users. (Cunningham Cunningham, 2008)They go further by statting that sociology is a key component and skill for Social Workers to learn and understand so that they rear use it in their practice to under pin the Codes of Practice set forth by the General Social Care Council. The same codes that state that all Social Workers must have appropriate knowledge and skills to provide social care and keep those skills and knowledge up to date. (GSCC, 2002)Reducing we lfare dependency for lone parents could result in reduced welfare use of goods and services and maximised employment rates along with improved socio-political impact for women however the monetary incentives for work has to be substantive and sustainable to reduce the risk of in-work poverty. (Knijn, Martin and Millar, 2007).Finch et al (2004) suggested that a lack of good childcare was one of the significant barriers to the governments laughingstock to increase the lone parent employment rate to 70 % by 2010.In the budget address of 2010, George Osborne stated that the government expects lone parents to look for work when their youngest child goes to school. These changes were then actioned on 25 October 2010 and moved(p) lone parents claiming income support.The Job Seekers Allowance Regulations 2010 also changed the policy too making it that once children are of full time school age, parents who are able to work and are claiming benefits should be expected to look for paid wo rk to support themselves and their family.Gingerbread, is still calling on the union Government to implement plans to enable all employees to apply for flexible working, to ensure all jobs in the public sector are offered on a part- time or flexible basis and introduce a right to paid enate leave to help parents deal with time off when children are ill. (Ahrends, 2009)Ahrends goes onto state that David Cameron, Gordon Brown and Nick Clegg all pledged to challenge injustice against single parents in 2010 and the newly elected Coalition Government further stated that it was committed to introducing flexible working for all and launched a taskforce on children and families. Unfortunately 9 months later this same government has scraped regulations and introduced new ones which came into force April 2011 as part of a package of measures to reduce bureaucracy for linees.It means firms with fewer than 10 employees from all new red tape for tercet years as it subjects 21,000 pieces of regulation to an audit by the public. (Stratton and Wintour, 2011) This will see a shelving of the right to request flexible working for parents with children under 17 which will apply to all firms, not just small ones. It will also scrap the right to request time for training and nurture toward continuous professional development.Single parents often want to work, but finding jobs to fit around the school day is very difficult as is finding and paying for suitable good quality childcare to begin with and after the school day. (Freegard, 2010). It is also important to note that family friendly jobs are still far too rare despite the Government requiring 100,000 single parents to seek work in 2011. (Woods, 2011)There has also been calls for the Government to move faster on plans for flexible working hours for lone parents however business case for flexible working has been proven with most employers agreeing that people work best when they have a work/life balance. (Weir, 2011)Howe ver it is important to note that in terms of poverty eradication there has been an improvement. Single parents employment rate has certainly risen, from 40% in the early eighties to 56.6% in 2009. (Giullari, 2009)For the Governments policies to work, there has to be sustainable, flexible work for lone parents to be employed in. Under this welfare ideology one of the key assumptions is that all adults should be in work even if it means precarious employment. (Lewis and Giullari, 2005)Ahrends debates although consecutive governments have promoted work as the route out of poverty and that many single parents are better off in paid work this is not always the case 21% of children whose single parent is in full time work still fall below the poverty line, as do 29 % of children whose single parent is working part time. 4 out of 10 children living in poverty are in a single parent household, and 9 out of 10 of them are mothers. More than 20% of women have persistently low incomes, helpin g, quite a than forcing, these women is the answer.Finch et al (2004) discusses that numerous studies have suggested that Britains parents are failing, children are miserable and have poor moral, social and intellectual upbringing. And it has been said that children from single parent families are worse behaved, children raised by single mothers are twice as likely to misbehave as those born into traditional two-parent families. (Paton, 2011)When a lone parent starts work, there are many changes to daily life. and the lives of their families and other family members. All of this including the social, work, carer and school settings are key elements to work sustainability this has not yet been consistently explored in research. (Millar and Ridge, 2009)Lone parents are a growing group in Great Britain and elsewhere and now represent one quarter of families with children (Haskey 2002). In the longer term, perhaps one half of British children will blend through a non-intact family at some stage in their childhood. Lone parents have been an important area of social policy study, given their high rates of receipt of social assistance. Their low incomes may be traced to low rates of economic activity, low rates of maintenance receipt, and relatively lower earnings when in paid work.A lot of single parents do want to work and for good reasons such as the sense of financial independence they get but also to set good examples for their children however with the current changes to the social policies surrounding lone parents and their benefits and the forthcoming changes mean that they feel isolated and vulnerable.In conclusion lone parents are facing a changing environment due to the budget cuts and the reduction in services. With the Coalition Government there has been a shift away from supporting lone parents being full time carers at home to an employment-based maternal model. There is a rhetoric focus and direction towards supporting employment and now the move t o compulsory work-related requirements. Lone parents with children five years or over are treated the same as any other unemployed people claimant. (Woods, 2011)Family-friendly employment with a work/life balance are not now part of the governments policies and without action from both the Government and employers, many single parents will remain in the poverty trap. (Woods, 2011)Word Count 2508