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NewsNon-resident fathers 'need greater employment support'
Non-resident fathers 'need greater employment support'
Posted by Emily Jones
The government has announced that thousands of lone parents will get extra help for work experience and training while their children attend nursery.
Lone parents who work less than 16 hours a week will be able to keep a portion of their wages without losing benefits.
However, Adrienne Burgess, head of research at the Fatherhood Institute, said that out-of-work resident fathers or separated fathers will not be helped by the initiative.
"The only men who could be [helped] might be the tiny number whose partners die in childbirth, or desert immediately afterwards so that the father gets the child benefit book - and is designated primary carer," she stated.
Under the government plans, lone parents will receive support in preparing their CVs, as well as finding jobs which fit in with school or nursery hours.
Parents of children aged between three and six years old in Nottinghamshire, Staffordshire, south London and the Tees Valley will be the first to fall under the scheme.
Despite her concerns, Ms Burgess did say that measures to encourage low-income parents to re-enter the workforce were important.
15/02/2010 15:23
News category: Employment