Plans to get lone parents back in work 'are failing'

The Government is set to miss its target of getting 70 per cent of all lone parents into work by 2010 unless radical changes are made to the minimum wage, childcare allowances and other benefits, according to research published today.

The employment target, an important element of Tony Blair's overall pledge to halve child poverty in the next eight years, will not be met on current policies, the Cambridge University study will claim.

The report, which was commissioned by the National Council for One Parent Families, suggests that the new child tax credit will have to rise by at least £12 a week for the targets to be achieved.

Significant rises in the national minimum wage from £4.50 to £5.50 an hour, and increase in the amount parents can earn before their benefits are withdrawn are also vital. Otherwise, work will not pay enough for single parents, the report concludes.

The report states that even if its recommended changes are adopted, it will take at least seven years for lone parents to make up the money lost from the benefit cut imposed by the Government in 1998.

Mr Blair suffered the biggest backbench revolt of his first term when Labour MPs rebelled against the move to abolish the premium on child benefit that reflected the extra difficulties of being a lone parent.

Latest Government figures show that in Britain there are 3.9 million children in poverty, and 44 per cent of all poor children, about 1.7 million, live in a one-parent family.

The Cambridge University research, commissioned amid claims that the Government's anti-poverty strategy was off course, estimates the effect of tax and benefit changes introduced between 1996/7 and 2003/4.

Its main conclusion is that relying on the 70 per cent employment rate by 2010 for single parents is "too risky a strategy" in combating deprivation because at present part-time jobs do not guarantee a move out of poverty.

It stresses that, as living standards continue to rise, the poorest groups will fall further behind unless they receive extra help. The study also highlights the burden placed on lone parents in work who have to find 30 per cent of their childcare costs from their wages.

For many lone parents, part-time work is the only feasible option. The National Council of One Parent Families wants the Government to raise the minimum wage and introduce a lower working-hours condition for entitlement to tax credit for lone parents.

Kate Green, director of the council, said: "Setting the targets for reducing child poverty was a brave and historic step but it is clear from our study that they cannot be met without policy reforms and increased, sustained investment. The Government should increase the child tax credit by£12 per child per week."