Lone Parents and Welfare‐to‐Work in England: A Spatial Analysis of Outcomes and Drivers

Abstract

Mirroring changes across nations of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, recent UK governments have redrawn lone parents' entitlement to social assistance benefits ever tighter around participation in the labour market. A radical shift since 2008 has been the gradual transfer of most non-employed lone parents into the 'activating' Jobseekers' Allowance (JSA) regime. The enhanced conditionality requirements of this JSA regime have been justified by both paternalistic and contractualist arguments but, however justified, are built on the premise that behavioural factors drive lone parent employment outcomes, a view made increasingly forcefully under the current Coalition government. This article uses up-to-date administrative data at local authority level across England to provide a geographical perspective into the sub-national changes in lone parent employment outcomes since the transfer to JSA from 2008, as well as the relevant importance of the alternative structural and behavioural accounts to these outcomes. The findings suggest that the JSA transfer has increased lone parent employment, that structural rather than behavioural drivers are more relevant causal factors and that there is good reason to be concerned about the effect of the reforms on the well-being of lone parents and their children.

Lone Mothers in Belgium: Labor Force Attachment and Risk Factors

“…Together with Berrington (2014), Haux (2013), Whitworth (2013), and Zagel (2013), our single-country case study again shows the complexity and diversity of lone parenthood, more specifically among lone mothers. Survey data often limit researchers' ability to dip deep into this complexity, while registers are currently limited to a single-country approach.…”

“…In the presence of low wages and unfavourable working conditions (temporary contracts, shift works, no health insurance, no vacation benefits, etc. ), hand, structural barriers rather than preferences are found to be crucial, and especially those connected to childcare and labor market opportunities (Whitworth 2013); on the other hand, there is some evidence that shows that those who experience lone parenthood at certain point over the life course had already low rates of employment (Mckay 2002). lone mothers might not be able to move off welfare through work, and thus they have to combine welfare and work (Cancian and Meyer 2000;Eamon and Wu 2011;Millar and Ridge 2008;Wu et al 2008).…”

Foundations of the Workfare State – Reflections on the Political Transformation of the Welfare State in Britain

“…Unemployment continues to be a real and persistent risk facing workers (particularly low‐skilled workers) in the advanced economies (OECD ). In the UK, we also find generational and regional divides in opportunities to find paid work (Whitworth ). Increasingly, however, the survey data suggest declining solidarity with unemployed citizens; perhaps those in employment care much more about their own job security than the unemployment of others, or perhaps most British citizens no longer recognize or accept unemployment risks themselves: risk is increasingly concentrated at the bottom of the class structure, after all.…”

On ‘Activation Workers' Perceptions’: A Reply to Dunn (1)

“…Another part of the context that is missing is a spatial analysis, particularly how geographical differences have a significant influence on the implementation of activation policies (Soss et al, 2012;Whitworth, 2012). This part of the discussion is focused on a 'dependency culture' existing among clients.…”