Prime minister Tony Blair said that from next month, sanctions in the New Deal for Lone Parents will include compulsory work-focused interviews for all those with children aged five and over. From October the rule will be extended to all lone parents, including those with children under five. Attending interview is part of the process of claiming income support and anyone failing to attend could lose benefits.
Although claimants will not be obliged to take a job, pressure groups fear this is a move toward compulsory employment for lone parents. Child Poverty Action Group director Martin Barnes said, 'We are concerned that compulsion and the use of benefit sanctions are to be stepped up. The stick of compulsion should not be used until affordable and accessible childcare and genuine full employment are a reality.'
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