- Parents on Income Support could see benefits stopped if they refuse to look for work once their children go to nursery
- Social Security Minister has proposed temporarily stopping payments to encourage parents to look for work
- Deputy Susie Pinel also called for more funding for breakfast clubs
- Should parents see benefits stopped if they refuse to look for work? Take our poll below
PARENTS on income support could have their benefits temporarily stopped if they refuse to start looking for work when their child becomes eligible for States-funded nursery care.
The proposal is one of a package of changes to the financial support available to low-income families that have been suggested by Social Security Minister Susie Pinel.
Deputy Pinel has also called for a 3.3 per cent increase in the level of funding that an eligible parent can claim for childcare through Income Support. She has also suggested that more venues – such as breakfast clubs – should be eligible for funding.
Currently a parent with little or no income who has a child up to five years old can claim income support without any requirement to seek work.
However, in proposals lodged with the States on Tuesday, Deputy Pinel says she wants parents to start looking for work a year earlier – when their child becomes eligible for the Nursery Education Fund. The fund entitles a child to 20 hours of free education each week, for 38 weeks, in the school year that they turn four.
And those parents who fail to engage with the Back to Work team could have their benefits temporarily stopped or reduced for up to six weeks.
If approved, the changes will lead to around 100 extra parents a year being required to engage with specialist Back to Work services.
Sophie Le Sueur, head of the Back to Work programme, said parents seeking work would be appointed their own dedicated employment adviser and be given a tailored programme from confidence-building courses to work placements to improve their employability.
Jobseekers would be expected to engage with the service once a week.
Miss Le Sueur said: ‘The law currently states they don’t need to start to look for work until their child is five years old.
‘That can be quite a long time out of the work place. Often a parent may need some skills training to help them get back into work.
‘By engaging with them earlier, when their child is in nursery care, we can give them the support they need. Hopefully they will be able to find a part-time job to help them become more financially independent or they may be able to move off income support.’
Miss Le Sueur stressed that the scheme was about supporting Islanders to get back into work.
A pilot scheme last year saw 77 parents with primary school age children work with the Back to Work team. Fifty per cent of these parents moved into paid employment while others are still working with the department or are no longer required to seek work because they have since had another child or are claiming sickness benefit.
Meanwhile, the amount that an eligible parent can claim in income support towards the cost of childcare has remained unchanged since October 2012.
Deputy Pinel has now proposed raising the hourly rate from £6.27 for a child under the age of three to £6.48 and from £4.90 for a child aged three or over to £5.06. The annual cost of this increase is estimated to be approximately £45,000.
Miss Le Sueur said: ‘The combination of all the proposed changes for parents will also lead to an increase in employment income and a reduction in income support benefit for some families.
[breakout]There are nearly 200 jobs being advertised on the JEP’s website at the moment, including more than 80 positions in the finance industry.[/breakout]
‘It is difficult to predict the net effect accurately, but an initial assumption is that the overall impact of the changes will be cost neutral.’
Deputy Pinel said: ‘I firmly believe that helping parents move back into employment leads to a range of economic and social benefits for the family.
‘It makes no sense to continue to allow low-income parents to remain outside the workforce for long periods of time now that support is available to help them return to a suitable part-time job and secure a greater likelihood of economic independence.’
The proposition is due to be debated on 23 June.
