Work Programme ‘fails to deliver for single parents’
Government should provide more tailored support, says charity
Single parent support organisation Gingerbread has piled yet more
pressure onto the government’s beleaguered Work Programme by slamming
its effectiveness in helping loan parents find work.
According to its analysis of data from the scheme, single parents are a third less likely to find work than other participants, with just 2.5 per cent achieving job outcomes, compared with 3.5 per cent of all claimants across the Work Programme. It also finds that despite the schemes promising job-seekers a personalised suite of services, many single parents only receive generic and duplicate advice, with many advisers unaware of the specific needs of single parents.
Philippa Newis, policy officer at Gingerbread said: “Interviews we did with 27 single parents who had been through both programmes revealed that advisers often lacked a basic grasp of what single parents needed; sometimes offering the wrong advice, duplicate advice, and not being aware about specific things that benefit single parents – such as the single parent flexibility scheme, to help parents fix work around school hours.”
She said the “work-first” approach to the Work Programme meant single parents were being offered “any” job rather than one that fitted their needs and suited their aspirations. She added: “What’s really concerning us, is that we’re seeing single parents with good qualifications being ‘parked’ by the Work Programme, but who are still being paid for finding them work when in reality, these parents found work themselves.”
The government’s flagship £3 billion, five-year Work Programme was launched 14 months ago, but has recently come under heavy criticism for not meeting its own objectives. Last month the Public Accounts Committee branded it “extremely poor” value for money, when it was revealed that just 3.5 per cent of claimants on the scheme had moved into sustained employment. This was less, it was claimed, than if jobseekers had been left to find work themselves. Gingerbread now argues the Work Programme has little to differentiate itself from the poor level of support already provided by Jobcentre Plus.
“Government needs to set up a rapid review of the differences in quality of provision between the two,” said Newis. Gingerbread wants more tailored support for single parents and is asking the government to set a target of helping 250,000 single parents get back into work by 2020 – a number that would bring the percentage of single parents in work (59 per cent) to the same level as couples (71 per cent).
Gingerbread’s chief executive Fiona Weir added: “Having a stable job with a decent wage is single parents’ best chance of lifting their families out of poverty. Our research shows the government cannot pretend its promise of personalised, flexible employment support is even close to being delivered. Tailored support is the most effective way of helping single parents back to work, but high targets and low budgets mean advisers have neither the time nor resources to deliver this. Significant reform is required if single parents are to be supported into sustainable employment.”
According to its analysis of data from the scheme, single parents are a third less likely to find work than other participants, with just 2.5 per cent achieving job outcomes, compared with 3.5 per cent of all claimants across the Work Programme. It also finds that despite the schemes promising job-seekers a personalised suite of services, many single parents only receive generic and duplicate advice, with many advisers unaware of the specific needs of single parents.
Philippa Newis, policy officer at Gingerbread said: “Interviews we did with 27 single parents who had been through both programmes revealed that advisers often lacked a basic grasp of what single parents needed; sometimes offering the wrong advice, duplicate advice, and not being aware about specific things that benefit single parents – such as the single parent flexibility scheme, to help parents fix work around school hours.”
She said the “work-first” approach to the Work Programme meant single parents were being offered “any” job rather than one that fitted their needs and suited their aspirations. She added: “What’s really concerning us, is that we’re seeing single parents with good qualifications being ‘parked’ by the Work Programme, but who are still being paid for finding them work when in reality, these parents found work themselves.”
The government’s flagship £3 billion, five-year Work Programme was launched 14 months ago, but has recently come under heavy criticism for not meeting its own objectives. Last month the Public Accounts Committee branded it “extremely poor” value for money, when it was revealed that just 3.5 per cent of claimants on the scheme had moved into sustained employment. This was less, it was claimed, than if jobseekers had been left to find work themselves. Gingerbread now argues the Work Programme has little to differentiate itself from the poor level of support already provided by Jobcentre Plus.
“Government needs to set up a rapid review of the differences in quality of provision between the two,” said Newis. Gingerbread wants more tailored support for single parents and is asking the government to set a target of helping 250,000 single parents get back into work by 2020 – a number that would bring the percentage of single parents in work (59 per cent) to the same level as couples (71 per cent).
Gingerbread’s chief executive Fiona Weir added: “Having a stable job with a decent wage is single parents’ best chance of lifting their families out of poverty. Our research shows the government cannot pretend its promise of personalised, flexible employment support is even close to being delivered. Tailored support is the most effective way of helping single parents back to work, but high targets and low budgets mean advisers have neither the time nor resources to deliver this. Significant reform is required if single parents are to be supported into sustainable employment.”
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