Lone parents to be helped into work

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is hoping to get more lone parents working again by moving them off Income Support and onto Jobseeker's Allowance.

Announced by work and pensions minister Maria Miller, the move would ensure that people receive more help to return to work.

She said that lone parents would be given help to fill out application forms and encouraged to take on family-friendly work in their local area.

Getting back into work could help single parents on the cusp of bankruptcy on the journey toward being debt free.

Mrs Miller said: "We know that work is the best route out of poverty, so we are determined to help more lone parents take their first steps into work."

She added that striking a good work-life balance was important for everyone – particularly single parents.

The DWP noted that 1.8 million children live in households where nobody works and 600,000 single parents are relying on Income Support to make ends meet.

However, the Trades Union Congress recently claimed that underemployment is one of the major causes of financial hardship.

By James Francis