Introduction

Increasing employment and reducing child poverty are two central goals of current government policy in the UK, and lone mothers – with their relatively low employment rates and relatively high poverty rates – are one of the key target groups for both. Since 1997 there has been a substantial investment in government support for lone parents in work, including a dedicated labour market programme (the New Deal for Lone Parents), increased financial support for those in work (the Child and Working Tax Credits), and an expansion of childcare services (the National Childcare Strategy).

These policies have had some success in the context of a favourable economic and social context. The employment rates of lone mothers, although still below those of partnered mothers, have risen quite rapidly, from about 44% in 1997 to about 54% in 2004. Their poverty rates – defined as net incomes after housing costs of less than 60% of the median – although still higher than those of couples, have fallen from about 57% in 1997/98 to about 46% in 2003/04 (DWP, 2005a). Material deprivation and reported hardship have also fallen (Vegeris and Perry, 2001; Barnes et al, 2005).

Thus, the context in which lone mothers make their decisions about employment – about when and how much to work – has changed quite rapidly in recent years. There is much more support for employment, but there is also much more pressure to work. The Labour government has repeatedly stressed the value and importance of employment – ‘work is the best form of welfare’ (Blair, 1997) – and has set a target that 70% of lone parents should be employed by 2010. Work-focused interviews, in which lone mothers discuss employment options and agree an ‘action plan’, are compulsory for all lone mothers receiving social assistance benefits. There are various further measures being piloted, including additional financial incentives for job search and for taking up employment. The Department for Work and Pensions’ Five Year Plan (DWP, 2005c) signals the intention to require some work-related activities for lone mothers with children of secondary school age, with the introduction of an ‘automatic payment of a £20 activity premium … conditional on undertaking the agreed activity’ (DWP, 2005c, para 70).