Of all New Labour’s pledges, none matters more to lone parents than the commitment given by the Prime Minister in March 1999 to end child poverty within a generation. One-parent families are the poorest families in Britain today – three in five children in one-parent families are poor, and lone mothers on income support are fourteen times more likely than other mothers to go without food themselves in order to meet the needs of their children. The pledge to end child poverty is welcome indeed.
Many of the policies which the government began to develop in its first term, and which it has continued in its second, are aimed squarely at addressing lone parent poverty. New tax credits, child support reform, the New Deal for Lone Parents, the National Childcare Strategy – all have the potential to promote the best interests of one-parent families and help to lift them out of poverty.
But it’s time to move from aspiration to delivery. Crucial infrastructural developments are essential if key targets are to be achieved. More resources for, and attention to, the delivery agenda are required. Some of the government’s targets are long term – to end child poverty in 20 years and to achieve 70 percent of lone parents in paid work in ten years. But investment is needed now, so that the results are given time to feed through.
For lone parents, one of the key priorities for the second term is to ensure that the new tax credits deliver an adequate income to children and families. The level at which the tax credits are set will be crucial in determining how much impact they have on child poverty. The scheme will also need to be responsive to lone parents’ circumstances if it is to help them move into work. Now is the time for the government to get across the message about tax credits. Adequate incomes for the poorest families are an investment in the future – and tax credits represent the means to deliver this.
Tax credits need to work to support the government’s welfare-to-work objectives. Most lone parents want to work when it’s right for them to do so. Tax credits should support parents in the pattern of work that best suits their family circumstances. For some lone parents, that means part-time working, and tax credits must be designed to support this as a first step to getting lone parents back into work. For many, the interaction with housing benefit will be a key issue in determining whether a return to work is possible. Improvement and reform of housing benefit is vital.
The New Deal for Lone Parents is also at a crucial stage in delivering the government’s objectives. Huge strides have been made in the past four years. The proportion of lone parents in paid work has increased from 44 percent in 1997 to over 50 percent. The government has set a highly ambitious target – to have 70 percent of lone parents in employment by the end of the decade. Many lone parents are very far from being work-ready. Investment in basic and IT skills, in building self-confidence, and in encouraging lone parents to re-engage with the workplace is needed now, and the role of Jobcentre Plus in delivering this support is vital.
Finally, substantial investment is needed in developing a childcare infrastructure. Without good, affordable childcare, lone parents are far less likely to be able to take work. Much money has been invested in the National Childcare Strategy – but with still only one place available for every seven children under the age of eight, according to the Daycare Trust, it is clear that further sustained and streamlined investment in childcare is crucial, particularly in the most disadvantaged areas.
In many areas, the government stands poised to make important progress towards its largest objectives. The first term laid the policy foundations; the second must be about turning the policy into action. The government has ambitious and long-term goals. It cannot take shortcuts now.