Welfare Reform Bill

Let me try to be very clear. Clause 1, which contains "work for your benefit" provisions, applies only if someone is subjected to the full JSA conditionality requirements: that they need to be available for work and that they are actively seeking work. Therefore, my noble friend Lady Turner said that we were progressively moving down the age of the youngest child to which that provision would apply until it becomes applicable to circumstances where the youngest child is aged seven. It would have no implications and no impact on situations where the youngest child is below the age of seven. Clause 2 deals with the progression-to-work group—this point was made by my noble friend Lady Hollis—and helping lone parents and others prepare for work in relation to getting involved in work-related activity. That would apply to lone parents where the youngest child was aged under seven, but nothing in those provisions would require a parent to look for work or to take up work. We need to be clear on those two distinct provisions. Each needs to be piloted and we need to understand what we will learn from that. That is an important distinction to hold in our minds as we discuss the Bill. Our policies for lone parents are about balancing the right to benefits to support the family with our wider responsibilities to help lone parents lift their children out of poverty and improve their life chances by entering paid work. Evidence shows that the vast majority of parents on benefits aspire to work at some point in the future and the paid work—this, in part, is the answer to the noble Lord, Lord Northbourne—is good for them and their children in nearly all circumstances. That is why from November 2008—the noble Lord, Lord Skelmersdale, referred to this, as did other noble Lords—we started implementing lone-parent obligations, which will progressively mean that lone parents with a youngest child aged seven or over, who claim benefit solely as a lone parent and are capable of work, will be required to be available for and actively seeking work from October 2010. In support of this policy, we want to introduce a progression-to-work model which places a flexible, reasonable and personalised set of requirements on parents with younger children to help to prepare them for work. In his report, Realising Potential: A Vision for Personalised Conditionality and Support, Professor Gregg suggested that the progression-to-work group should include parents, including lone parents, with a youngest child aged between one and six. However, we intend to test progression to work with parents with a youngest child aged between three and six. We are starting with this age group because there is already a strong foundation of childcare provision available to it, as children aged three and four right across the UK have access to free part-time pre-school education, and children aged five and six receive free education of up to 30 hours a week during school term-time. We also think it is right to test an approach which balances giving lone parents on benefit time to participate full-time in early childhood activities while signalling that the long-term goal for most lone parents is to return to paid work. In the future, we want to ensure that preparation for paid work is a natural progression for these parents, with it being part of an ongoing journey rather than a step up. We think this will help them to enter work as quickly as possible when it is appropriate for them. But I must stress at this point that we are testing this in the pathfinders to see whether this is the appropriate age group. Under the progression-to-work model, parents with younger children will be expected to agree an action plan with their adviser. This will set out the parent’s individual goals, the activities they will undertake and the support they will access to undertake some form of activity that will help them in their eventual transition to work. In a sense, the role of the jobcentre adviser will change a little under this because hitherto the available programmes have generally been non-mandatory and people have been alerted as to what is on offer, whereas now there should be much more engagement with individuals to help them to understand the gaps that they have in their skills and what they might need to do to prepare for work. We will develop a much more engaged relationship. When co-producing the action plan, an adviser will ensure that it will be tailored to the parent’s wishes and individual circumstances before it is finalised and agreed. This action plan will take into account their individual caring responsibilities when considering what time they have available to undertake work-related activity. That is especially important if parents need to plan this around their existing access to the Government’s free childcare offer or school arrangements. In most cases, the activities agreed as part of an action plan can be organised in such a way that they can be fitted around these hours. If that is not possible and paid childcare is needed to enable a parent to comply with any element of their work plan, that will be funded in full by Jobcentre Plus. That is vital if parents are taking part in activities that require childcare. We will also ensure that a number of safeguards will be in place where parents can refuse to take part in, or leave, the mandatory activity they have agreed without being penalised if their personal circumstances justify that. We would allow, for example, action plans to be adapted if there was bereavement, serious illness, domestic emergency or the breakdown of childcare arrangements. I cannot stress enough that these pathfinders are not about forcing parents, including lone parents, into work before it is appropriate for them. These measures are designed to prepare these parents and get them ready so that work becomes a natural progression for parents with younger children. We hope that this will take them closer to the labour market so they will be able to more readily access the opportunities to lift their children out of poverty and access the full range of social, economic and community benefits that come with undertaking paid work. It would be wrong to place a specific age on the face of the Bill. When we test these measures in consultation with our stakeholders, we may decide to change the age of the youngest child if that is found to be appropriate and it is right that we should be able to do that without primary legislation. A number of noble Lords, particularly the noble Baronesses, Lady Meacher and Lady Hollis, referred to the research that is available and what evidence exists for the effects of maternal employment on the neurological development of children. There is a growing body of evidence that points to the importance of early years for the development of the brain, and a child’s early experiences will determine whether their developing brain provides a strong or weak foundation for all future learning, behaviour and health. The early development of cognitive, social and physical abilities not only affects their school readiness, but has the potential to affect their long-term achievement, through their school lives and into adulthood. However, there is very little evidence of the specific impact of maternal employment on the neurological development of children. There is some evidence on the effects of maternal employment on children's cognitive and behavioural outcomes, but that is largely inconclusive: there is little specific to the UK context. What evidence there is suggests that there are few negative effects of maternal employment once the child is aged over 18 months. The small negative effects of maternal employment appear to be greater for those whose mothers work full time rather than part time, not surprisingly. Overall, no significant difference can be identified between lone parents and mothers in couples, in terms of how their employment is related to a child’s cognitive development. Moreover, evidence suggests that the negative effects of early full-time maternal employment are concentrated in children who attended little or no formal childcare. The use of quality formal childcare seems to protect children from adverse effects. We have a strong body of evidence to show that good-quality early-years childcare for children aged two, three and four has a positive impact on child development, especially for disadvantaged children. The noble Lord, Lord Skelmersdale, and the right reverend Prelate referred to the attachment between the parent and the child. Working parents form strong bonds with children, and research shows that on the whole they spend more quality time with their children than those who do not work. Good quality childcare plus good parental input results in the best outcomes for children. The noble Countess, Lady Mar, referred to the lack of childcare and, indeed, to the lack of transport in her location. Childcare is now more widely available than ever before, and we have made considerable investment to ensure that it is also more affordable for families on low or moderate incomes. We have further amendments that will have the chance to develop this. The large majority of lone parents will be able to find the childcare that they need to enable them to return to work. However, where suitable childcare is genuinely not available, this will be taken into consideration when determining whether there is good cause for any act or omission of a lone parent. The availability of transport and the costs of transport will similarly be taken into account. The noble Lord, Lord Skelmersdale, talked about the different ages that have been referred to in various bits of documentation that have been circulated. Just to be clear, for parents whose youngest child is under the age of one, there will be no conditionality. For parents whose youngest child is aged between three and six, the proposal to be piloted is a mandatory work-focused interview with an action plan and work-related activity. For those whose youngest child is between one and two, there is the usual existing mandatory work-focused interview and action plan. A number of noble Lords, particularly the noble Baroness, Lady Meacher, touched on mothers under pressure and how these provisions relate to them. The point is taken, but the approach to work-related activity—the progression to work—provides ample scope for that to be taken into account. It is the job of the adviser to work out an action plan with the lone parent. The action plan is the format and the occasion when these issues can be reviewed and developed. The noble Baroness, Lady Afshar, in particular referred to childcare. The Government have invested significantly in improving the affordability of childcare. The cost of childcare is a more significant issue for parents of pre-school children, but all children aged three and four are now entitled to free part-time pre-school of 12.5 hours a week for 38 weeks of the year. Obviously that has a particular impact on reducing costs. Low-to-moderate-income families receive help with childcare costs from the tax credits system, and are entitled to help with 80 per cent of eligible costs of up to £175 a week for one child and £300 a week for two or more children. Those limits compare favourably with typical costs. The right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Ripon and Leeds asked whether this was relevant if work was not available. I return to the point that Clause 1 is about "work for your benefit", and that Clause 2 is about work-related activity. Notwithstanding that—obviously these matters will be developed over the next few years—the pathfinders will not start until next year, when the economy will be in a better shape. Even if that were not the case we have learnt that, if we are inactive about our benefits system and do not help people to get ready and to progress towards work when we are in a recession, it is much more difficult to do so later on. All the evidence shows that the longer people are on benefits, particularly inactive ones, the more difficult it is for them to get back into work. I hope that I have covered each of the points that have been raised in this debate. This is an important starting point. We simply wish to reiterate the distinction between what is provided for in Clauses 1 and 2. We need to bear that in mind in our debates on subsequent amendments. I ask the noble Lord not to press his amendment. As we are in the Moses Room, I understand that he might not do so.