Lone parents: unemployed or otherwise engaged?

This paper examines change and continuity in policy approaches to supporting lone parent families since 1997 and considers how they relate to the specific circumstances of lone parent families. Of the 2 million lone parent families in the UK, 92% are headed by women with 91% of lone parents not sharing child care responsibilities equally with the other parent. The paper identifies the ways in which these factors are ignored as lone parents are increasingly conceptualised as workless or unemployed rather than legitimately standing outside of the paid labour market as a result of their caring responsibilities. Work is conceptualised in political rhetoric as the key duty of responsible citizens, with the welfare reform agenda focussed on moving lone parents into the paid labour market. This approach suggests that lone parent unemployment is a significant behavioural problem, with the engagement of lone parents in paid employment posited as a key solution. However, the paper argues that the relationship between paid work and poverty is not straightforward; even when in full time work the poverty rate for lone parents is 19%. Some potential problems with the focus on employment are highlighted, in particular the specific challenges that lone parents may face when attempting to combine paid work with caring responsibilities