Title
Contents
Acknowledgements 9
The Authors 10
Abbreviations 13
Glossary of terms 17
Summary 27
1. Introduction 35
1.1 Structure of the report 35
1.2 Lone parents in Britain 36
1.2.1 Lone parents and employment 36
1.2.2 Child poverty in lone parent households 37
1.3 Recent welfare-to-work lone parent policy: from voluntary programmes to LPO 37
1.3.1 Voluntary programmes 38
1.3.2 IS conditionality: the WFI regime 40
1.3.3 Lone Parent Obligations 41
1.3.4 The JSA regime and lone parents 43
1.4 Evaluating Lone Parent Obligations 44
1.4.1 Research aims and objectives 46
1.5 Methodology 47
1.5.1 The customer fieldwork 49
1.5.2 The staff fieldwork 51
1.5.3 Interviewing approach and discussion guides 52
1.5.4 Analysis process 52
1.6 Summary 53
2. Customer characteristics and attitudes 55
2.1 Introduction 55
2.2 Background and characteristics 56
2.2.1 The characteristics of lone parents and their households 56
2.2.2 Housing status and social networks 57
2.2.3 Education and training 58
2.2.4 Benefits history and current benefit status 59
2.2.5 Current work status and previous employment history 59
2.3 Attitudes and aspirations 61
2.3.1 Lone parents' attitudes to work 61
2.3.2 Lone parents' attitudes to claiming benefits 65
2.3.3 Future aspirations 66
2.4 Constraints to working 68
2.4.1 Caring choices and domestic responsibilities 69
2.4.2 Feeling 'work ready' 70
2.4.3 Concerns about finding and accessing suitable work 71
2.5 Summary 73
3. The Income Support regime for lone parents 75
3.1 Staff understanding and implementation of the IS regime 77
3.1.1 Purpose of LPWFIs 77
3.1.2 Frequency and duration of LPWFIs 77
3.1.3 Content of LPWFIs 79
3.1.4 Deferrals and waivers 80
3.1.5 Failing to attend 81
3.1.6 Sanctions 83
3.1.7 Staff views on customer engagement with the LPWFI and action-planning process 84
3.1.8 Differences in attitude to work between customer groups 86
3.2 Customer understanding and experience of the IS regime 87
3.2.1 Customer understanding of the LPWFI process as part of conditionality 87
3.2.2 Customer views on the timing and frequency of LPWFIs 88
3.2.3 Customer experience of attending LPWFIs 89
3.2.4 Customer views on the usefulness of LPWFIs 91
3.2.5 Customer understanding of IS sanctions 92
3.2.6 Customer experiences of sanctions 93
3.2.7 Customer views on Jobcentre Plus staff 94
3.2.8 Customer views on moving from benefits into work 95
3.3 Childcare for children aged under seven 97
3.3.1 Staff views on gaps and constraints in childcare provision 97
3.3.2 Staff views on the effects of childcare availability on lone parents finding work 99
3.3.3 Staff views on childcare availability and promotion 101
3.3.4 Customer views on childcare for younger children 102
3.3.5 Implications for future roll-out of LPO 103
3.4 Staff views of the effects of LPO on the IS regime 104
3.5 Attitudes to work of lone parents on IS 105
3.6 Summary 106
4. The ending of Income Support eligibility 109
4.1 Staff awareness and understanding of the ending of IS eligibility 110
4.1.1 Staff awareness of LPO and perceptions of customer awareness 110
4.1.2 LPO communications, guidance and training 111
4.1.3 Management support during the LPO roll-out 112
4.2 Customer awareness and understanding of the ending of IS eligibility 113
4.3 Staff experience of implementing changes to IS eligibility 115
4.3.1 Staff experience of Options and Choices Events 115
4.3.2 Staff experience of the process leading to the end of customers' IS claims 116
4.3.3 Staff experience of the lone parent transition loan process 121
4.3.4 Staff views on implementation to date 123
4.3.5 Capacity to deal with the changes 125
4.3.6 Staff views on future implementation issues and suggestions for improvement 126
4.4 Customer experience of the changes to IS eligibility 128
4.4.1 Customer experience of Options and Choices Events 128
4.4.2 Customer experience of the process leading to the end of their IS claim 128
4.4.3 Customer experience of LPTLs and the move to fortnightly payments 129
4.5 Staff views on the effects of IS ending on customers and their families 130
4.6 Customer views on the effects of IS ending on them and their families 132
4.7 Summary 134
5. The Jobseeker's Allowance regime and lone parents 137
5.1 Customer understanding of the JSA regime 138
5.2 Making a JSA claim 139
5.2.1 Staff experience of helping lone parents to make a JSA claim 140
5.2.2 Customer experience of making a new or repeat claim for JSA 141
5.2.3 Existing customers' experiences of the switching process 144
5.2.4 The JSA claim process overall 144
5.3 The JSA flexibilities for parents 145
5.4 Childcare to support the JSA regime 149
5.4.1 Gaps in provision: 'limbo age' and seasonal barriers to work 150
5.4.2 Defining appropriate and affordable childcare 154
5.4.3 Discussing childcare options 156
5.5 Work-search and support from Jobcentre Plus 157
5.5.1 Staff views on the support for lone parents claiming JSA 157
5.5.2 The type of work customers are seeking 160
5.5.3 How customers look for work 162
5.5.4 Attending appointments at Jobcentre Plus 164
5.5.5 The usefulness of Jobcentre Plus support 170
5.5.6 IWC 173
5.6 JSA conditionality, benefit disallowance and sanctions 175
5.6.1 Staff views and experience of disallowance and sanctions for lone parents on JSA 177
5.6.2 Customer views and experience of sanctions on the JSA regime 179
5.7 Customers views of the effects of the JSA regime on themselves 181
5.7.1 New and repeat JSA customers 182
5.7.2 Customers who have moved from IS to JSA 184
5.8 Summary 186
6 Conclusions and interim recommendations 189
6.1 The effectiveness of the IS regime for lone parents with a youngest child aged six and under 190
6.2 Lone parents' awareness and understanding of the LPO changes 191
6.3 The effectiveness of the IS-ending process 191
6.4 The effectiveness of the JSA regime for lone parents 192
6.5 Benefit disallowance and sanctioning lone parent customers 193
6.6 Childcare and its provision to support lone parents into work 194
6.7 Effect of LPO on lone parents' attitudes to work and propensity to work 195
6.8 Effects of the recession on LPO 197
Appendix A. Sampling and opt out 199
Appendix B. Key characteristics of the customer interviews 201
Appendix C. Timeline sticker options 205
Appendix D. Staff roles within Lone Parent Obligations 207
Appendix E. Forthcoming outputs from the evaluation of Lone Parent Obligations 211
Appendix F. Themes covered by the topic guides 213
References 215
Table A.1 Achieved interviews by customer group and case study area 200
Table B.1 Gender of lone parents interviewed by customer group 201
Table B.2 Achieved interviews by customer type and ethnic group 202
Table B.3 Achieved interviews by customer type and customer age 202
Table B.4 Achieved interviews by customer type and number of children 202
Table B.5 Achieved interviews by customer type, and customer and child(ren) health issue or disability 203
Table B.6 Achieved interviews by customer type and qualification level 203
Table B.7 Achieved interviews by customer type and work status 203
Table C.1 Constraints to work 205
Table C.2 Work-search and other activities 206
Figure 1.1 Sampling customers for the LPO evaluation by roll-out phase 50