Lone parent pilot scheme

huggermugger

Couldn't find this info anywhere else on here; seems a bit of a well-kept secret generally so thought I would share it.. I know about it because I now get it, but the specific info is cobbled together from a Google search.

In certain parts of the country there is a pilot scheme running called the In Work Credit to help lone parents back to work. It pays an extra £40 per week, tax-free for 12 months, on top of other benefits and is not taken into account when calculating other benefits eg: Working Families Tax Credit or Housing Benefit.

To be eligible lone parents need to have been on IS or income-based JSA for at least a year, and to enter work of at least 16 hours a week. It is paid for 12 months at £40 a week - on top of tax credits and other benefits.

Jobcentre Plus are already piloting the In Work Credit in 12 areas (Bradford; North, Central and South East London; Dudley and Sandwell; Lancashire West; Leeds; Leicestershire; Staffordshire; West London; Edinburgh, Lothians and Borders; London; and Cardiff and Vale) across the country, often alongside Work Search Premium. From end of April 2005, In Work Credit will also be available across London (but not in the North East London Jobcentre Plus district, where the Employment Retention and Advancement is testing similar incentives). From October 2005, it will be further extended to six districts in all in the South East region, where living costs are a problem. These are: Surrey and Sussex; Essex; Kent; Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire; Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire; Hampshire and Isle of Wight.

HTH someone - I have been paid it for about four month with no hiccups (touch wood)

black-saturn

Always nice to see some help for lone parents. Thanks

looby75

it would be a big help to me, childcare cost are going to be a big problem for me when I go back to work...don't have any family who can help and as childcare is so hard to find round here the childminders and nurseries charge above and beyond normal rates In 12 months time my youngest will be old enough to go to the after school club though, which is much cheaper so £40 a week would pay for those extra costs in the meantime.

Unfortunately it's not happening in my area yet though.

huggermugger

I know the feeling looby, it was exactly the same for me. I'd tried to stack the numbers up in many different ways but couldn't make them work; never seemed to qualify for any of the special schemes etc so I was amazed when this one popped up! Because it's tax free and isn't knocked off any other benefits, it's worth more than £40 a week...

I'm really sorry it won't work for you yet but keep asking at the Job Centre - it was my personal advisor on the Lone Parent Deal thingy that gleefully told me. Maybe she was relieved to finally see the back of me but I like to think that she got some rare job satisfaction!

Fran

Where did you find the information? Have you got any links? Would it be £40 for someone who found full time work at £30,000 per annum or is that just the maximum for someone on low paid work of 16 hours eg.?

It's totally unfair to have pilot areas though that can receive this whereas their neighbours can't, especially as £40 is a substantial amount if you are going from IS/JSA into work.

helen21_2

Pilot schemes, my back side, another way of giving to some without giving to others and probably the same areas that they gave the extra cash to if you saved each month :rolleyes:

looby75

I am due my annual lone parent interview at the beginning of may so I'll ask about it then. If I could just find affordable childcare I would love to go back to work but round here it's like finding hens teeth

The most annoying part is that my ex (who ended the relationship by having an affair) frequently comments on how much easier it is for him now he doesn't have to fit work round the kids, then wonders why I haven't "got off my backside" (his words) and got a job yet :mad:

huggermugger

As I said, it is not easy to find info on this. Initially mine came from my Job Centre and the fact that I now get it. To put the info on here, I did a google search on "In Work Credit pilot scheme". I think the best info is on the CPAG site although it's a bit old now.

http://www.cpag.org.uk/cro/wrb/wrb185/loneparents.htm

It's a fixed rate paid to any lone parent who has been on Income Support or JSA for at least 12 months, who gets work for at least 16 hours per week.

I suppose pilot schemes are by their nature unfair but at least this one shows signs of being extended... it started in 2004 and was extended at the end of 2005.

wobblebottom

not to mention the £250 grant they pay aswell.. nice little bonus for reutrning to work..

speak to your local JC about this..

I had to go last week for my work focused interview as per usual.. and the advisor there told me all about it..

Now to find a Job for 16 hrs..

huggermugger

looby75 wrote:

I am due my annual lone parent interview at the beginning of may so I'll ask about it then. If I could just find affordable childcare I would love to go back to work but round here it's like finding hens teeth

The most annoying part is that my ex (who ended the relationship by having an affair) frequently comments on how much easier it is for him now he doesn't have to fit work round the kids, then wonders why I haven't "got off my backside" (his words) and got a job yet :mad:

Bl**dy cheek! When faced with remarks like that, I remind my ex that I effectively provide 24 hour child care for him at a very reasonable price & if he'd like to try & find a substitute, he's welcome. Funny, he's never looked into it.... :rotfl:

looby75

huggermugger wrote:

Funny, he's never looked into it.... :rotfl:

LOL I wonder why? :T

Oh some of the things my ex (well not strictly my ex yet, we are still married because I am making him pay for the divorce and he's to tight too lol) says to me now makes me seriously wonder what the heck I ever saw in him LOL

So I wonder if and when these plans will go nationwide?