Employment Schemes: Lone Parents

Mrs. Curtis-Thomas
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what measure are (a) in place and (b) planned to be introduced to help lone parents into employment.

Mr. Jim Murphy
The following measures are already in place to help eligible lone parents into employment, some of which are open to eligible people other than lone parents:

New Deal for Lone Parents

New Deal Plus for Lone Parents

Work Focused Interviews

Programme Centres

Work Trials

Childcare Subsidy

Childcare Assist

In-Work Credit

In-Work Emergency Fund

Adviser Discretion Fund

Job Grant

Mortgage Interest Run On

Housing Benefit Run On .

Tax Credits

As we have announced, we also plan to introduce the following measures to help eligible lone parents into employment:

From 30 April 2007: extension of six-monthly Work Focused Interviews for lone parents with a youngest child aged five to 13;

From 30 April 2007: introduction in New Deal Plus for Lone Parent pilot areas of quarterly Work Focused Interviews for lone parents with a youngest child aged 11 to 13;

From 1 July 2007: introduction of a higher In-Work Credit rate of 60 across London;

From 1 July 2007: continuation of the In-Work Credit in pilot areas until June 2008;

From 1 April 2008 to March 2011: expansion of the New Deal Plus for Lone Parent pilot areas to cover all London districts;

From 28 April 2008: extension of six-monthly Work Focused Interviews for lone parents with a youngest child aged 0 to four.