Lone Parent Reforms

08 Mar 2007

The Prime Minister Tony Blair announced this week that lone parents will be forced out to work once their child reaches 12.

Diane Abbott, the MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington represents an area where over 40% of families are headed by lone parents and is a single parent herself.  Ms Abbott has strongly criticised these reforms. Earlier today she expressed her concerns about how the proposals will affect lone parents and their children:

“I believe targeting this group of unemployed people is unfair and unrealistic. It appears that Ministers do not really understand the very real challenges facing lone parents today. Most lone parents with a skill or profession do go back to work. The group Ministers are talking about are largely unskilled or undereducated. It is almost impossible to find suitable, affordable and flexible child-care to fit in with the low grade shift work in retail, cleaning and social care that these women will end up doing. These proposals contradict the recent emphasis on the role of the parent in preventing gang crime amongst youngsters. How can lone parents guide and support their adolescents if they are forced into taking jobs which may take them away from their children?”

Referring to recent statistics on lone parents Diane reasoned:

“It has been shown that the group being targeted in these proposals – lone parents whose youngest child is 11 years or over – already has 66% employment. Furthermore, one quarter of this group is caring for a disabled child and one third have themselves got a health condition or disability. Research suggests that targeting this group would not help to meet Government targets on child poverty or lone parent employment.”

Diane went on:

“I believe that before talking about forcing lone parents back to work we should be improving the educational opportunities open to them and vastly improving childcare. Ultimately it should be the lone parent’s choice whether or not to work depending on the best interests of their children.”



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