Most lone mothers already look for work to escape from benefit, says survey

• A study of more than 6,700 lone mothers claiming Income Support found that only one in five were receiving the benefit throughout a four year period from 1993 to 1997. This pointed to a high turnover rate, with many women claiming for relatively short spells.
• A parallel study of almost 3,000 working lone mothers claiming Family Credit to supplement low wages found that after three years more than half had either ceased claiming means-tested benefits or else were claiming Housing and Council Tax Benefits only suggesting they had moved into better paid jobs.
• A survey of 600 lone mothers found that most had worked since they first had children and that only a small minority of, mostly, older mothers did not want to work at all. The vast majority either preferred to work or felt they had to in order to support their children.
• More than a third of lone mothers in the survey had moved on and off benefit more than once. The main reasons were the marginal nature of the jobs that many of them got, and problems with childcare as well as changes in the family. 

Income Support Researchers at the University of Oxford's Department of Applied Social Studies and Research analysed records for all the lone mothers claiming Income Support in a town in North West England. Although four out of ten were receiving benefit at the start and the end of a four-year period, as many as eight out of ten had, at some point, ceased claiming.

While lone mothers under 25 had the highest exit rate from Income Support, the barriers to leaving benefit were greatest for older mothers and those caring for three or more dependent children. Women who became single mothers as teenagers were no more likely to rely on Income Support for a long period than other lone mothers.

Family Credit Some 30 per cent of working lone mothers who were receiving Family Credit in July 1994 were still claiming the benefit three years later. Another 16 per cent were claiming Income Support. However, there were many others for whom Family Credit appeared to provide a route out of benefit. By July 1997, 54 per cent no longer figured in the statistics, or else were claiming Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit only.

Survey of 600 lone mothers The sample survey found that the majority of lone mothers had quite short spells on benefit. Of those who were no longer claiming, half had been on benefit for two years or less. But a minority were very long stay claimants. Lone mothers who had been married or living with a partner when they had children tended to be in their mid to late 30s when claiming Income Support. Single 'never married' mothers were younger, most often claiming benefit in their 20s.

An overwhelming majority of women in both groups expressed a strong desire to work if they could although many saw this as a matter of 'making ends meet'. Younger mothers tended to refer to childcare reasons and financial barriers as the reasons why they had not worked more. Older lone mothers were more likely to cite the need to stay home and look after children or other members of their family.

The survey also found that much of the childcare used by working lone mothers was 'informal', relying on family or friends to look after children usually for a modest payment. It followed that women whose families lived locally and were prepared to help were more likely than others to work. Lone mothers working full-time were more likely to use formal childcare facilities, but women often mentioned irregular or unsociable hours as reasons they could not make use of childminders or daycare.

Mike Noble, a Senior Lecturer and co-author of the study, said: "Our study shows that the overwhelming majority of lone mothers want to work and that there is much movement from benefit into work over a three or four year period. We found little sign of any welfare dependency culture among lone parents and believe that the Government is wise to resist making compulsion part of its New Deal for Lone Parents.

"Mothers themselves must be the best judge of when and how much it is appropriate for them to work. It is clear, nevertheless, that some mothers find it hard to leave Income Support even when they would like to. We would suggest that the New Deal should be targeted towards these long-stay claimants."

Dr. Noble added: "Although the Government plans to replace Family Credit with a Working Families Tax Credit, our findings on in-work benefits are highly relevant. For example, the Child Care Tax Credit announced in last month's Budget will assist those parents who are able to take advantage of formal childcare facilities, but our survey shows that there are many others for whom informal arrangements using family and friends are the only practical option."