More about lone parents

How do you define a lone parent? Officially, a lone parent is someone without a partner who is looking after a child under sixteen, and for whom they are in receipt of child benefit. Or, if they are not eligible for child benefit, (perhaps they have not been in the country long enough) then at least nobody else must be in receipt of child benefit for the same child.

When do you stop being a lone parent? On the day the youngest child turns sixteen. Then, the LP ceases to receive income support, and must register for work. When the sixteenth birthday of the youngest child approaches, we send out a letter to the LP, and it actually tells them that they must either register for work, or obtain medical certificates. Why put the idea of medical certificates into their heads? Or anyway into the heads of those (very few) who do not know the system.

What do we do for our LPs? They get their rent and council tax paid, (most of it, anyway), their income support (to which they always refer as their 'pay') plus free school meals, help towards their children's school uniforms, free prescriptions, the list goes on and on. I'll never forget one woman complaining to me that in Sweden, where she had lived previously, the government provided taxis to take her children to school, and why couldn't we? I attempted to ask her why she thought she had a right to these things, why the taxpayer should support her in this way instead of her going out to work and earning her keep, but either the question was too difficult for her to understand, or her ability to speak quite good English had suddenly disappeared.

What do LPs do in return? They attend a 'work-focused interview' every six months. It is a condition of their benefit entitlement that they come to the interview, and that they participate when they are there, but that is as far as it goes. There's no compulsion involved. We can't force them to take a job, or enrol for a training course. If, however, they do say that they are interested in work, there are other things we have to offer. A cheap travel card, money to buy clothes suitable for interviews, help with child care, free training courses, help with writing a CV, free internet access and stationery, everything short of actually doing the job for them. Their benefits continue for a few weeks after they start work, so that they won't be disadvantaged by having to wait for their first wage packet. I even know an adviser who rings one of her claimants every morning, to make sure he gets up and goes to work. When I first heard that, I honestly thought it was a wind-up.

And then, of course, there's housing. Because council housing is cheap, a great many people want it. There is a waiting list of several thousand in this borough alone. A single person has almost no chance at all unless they are elderly, or have a serious health condition, but with a child, or children, the council has an obligation to house you. And once you have a council flat or house, your heating will be serviced by the council, repairs will be done, and you will never have to worry about selling it to meet the cost of care in your old age. The rent is not high either, at least compared with renting privately, but then you won't be paying it, so why should you care?

So there you are, all set. A secure 'wage', and secure housing. The cost of council tax doesn't worry you, neither does the thought of rising interest rates. Prescriptions may go up, but you don't have to pay them. Just tick the little box on the back that says you're on income support. Let the tax payer worry about such things.