'Parents in pocket of poverty must get back to work'

from IC South London

By Sarah Bailey

NEW figures have shown that north and central Croydon are among 100 places in the UK with the highest numbers of single parents claiming unemployment benefit.

Information from the Department of Work and Pensions shows Central Croydon has 3,150 single parents on Income Support, making it the 14th highest in the country.

Not far behind is Croydon North, which came 21st with a total of 2,990.

In a letter to Croydon Central MP Andrew Pelling, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions John Hutton described the area as a "pocket of entrenched poverty and economic inactivity".

Mr Pelling said part of the problem was a lack of available childcare in the borough, which was getting a "rotten deal" compared with the rest of the capital.

He said: "We need more childcare places in Croydon to help lone parents into work. The Mayor's London Development Agency has provided only 94 such places across south London.

"This social requirement also shows the desperate need to get a fair deal for Croydon on local government funding."

Statistics show children of unemployed single parents are five times more likely to live in poverty.

Mr Hutton said he was keen to encourage more single parents back into work even if it meant reducing their benefits as an incentive.

He said: "Raising the lone parent employment rate to our target of 70 per cent would see a further 200,000 children lifted out of poverty.

"We ask relatively little of lone parents on benefits - with a requirement to look for work that only begins when the youngest child reaches 16.

"By contrast, countries whose welfare systems take a more active approach to helping lone parents back into jobs, such as Sweden and Denmark, make little distinction between lone parents and other benefit recipients in terms of the obligation to look for work."

But Parentline Plus, a national charity with offices in Croydon, said the Government must exercise "great caution" in making changes to the system.

A spokesman said: "We are fully aware of the potential impact of divorce and separation on children.

Indeed, the impact has been cited as one of the reasons behind anti-social behaviour.

"It seems contradictory that on the one hand parents are being told to go back to work, while on the other being told they must take control of the family home and their child's behaviour."