Lone Parents/Worklessness Little Hulton

Lone Parents/Worklessness

Little Hulton

Contents of presentation

2. The baseline and the story behind it

3. Our current response

4. Key issues and principles for a reformed approach

5. Improving outcomes- The key challenges

1. Rationale, process and stakeholders

6. Questions and answers

Week

Stage

Key Products

&Tasks

(up to) 1

Planning

Agreed case for

SPOTLIGHT;Team

established;Resources secured;Methods planned;

Stakeholders engaged;

2 - 3

The issue

Analysis of the issue and its

cause and effects on families,

individuals, neighbourhoods

3 - 4

The response

Analysis of the systems,

structures and incentives in the delivery

chain

5 - 6

Delivery Agreements

Immediate, medium and

long term commitments to

improve delivery – made

to high level panel of LSP

Exec.

Monthly

Stock takes

Regular high tempo checks

on delivery against

commitments

‘Quick wins’ – supporting local ideas

The SPOTLIGHT process

Little Hulton: A changing area, where the challenge of Connecting People is critical







Employment – The comparative picture

Employment rates in Salford and UK wide

Salford

Little Hulton

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Employment Rates Nationally Average UK employment rate

Source: Average & National employment rates: Annual Population Survey 2006/7

Little Hulton: Census 2001

Benefits – Highlighting the issue

Benefit claimant rates by ward

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40%

Worsley and BoothstownSwinton SouthWalkden South

IrlamClaremontCadishead

Swinton NorthEccles

PendleburyKersal

Walkden NorthWeaste and Seedley

WintonBarton

BlackfriarsPendleton

OrdsallLangworthy

LITTLE HULTONBroughton

Benefit claimant rate as a proportion of the working age population

JSA IB Lone Parents Carers Others on Income Related Benefits

LITTLE HULTON

Source: DWP Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study May 2007

Definition of a Lone Parent

• Census definition:‘A parent living without a spouse (and not co-habiting) with his or her never married dependent child or children aged either under 16 or from 16-19 and undertaking full-time education’.

• Income Support definition:‘The person responsible for a child under the age of 16 who lives in their household. The "living in the household " is usually determined by the person who actually receives Child Benefit for the child as there is no provision in the system to spilt Child Benefit between parents/carers who live apart’.

Lone Parents – The big picture

• Significant increase in the number of lone parents between 1981 – 2001 census

1981 1991 2001

Little Hulton 3.3% 10.4% 13%

Salford 2.4% 5.9% 8.6%

Source: Census 2001

Lone parents – Who are they?

Lone Parents

709

Little Hulton:

8% Male

67.2% Work full time5.2% Work part time

92% Female

17% Work full time19.9% Work part time

Little Hulton:

72% Income Supportclaimants (508)

? JSA claimants? IB claimants

Census 2001

Census 2001

DWP May 2007

Lone parent IncomeSupport claimantsin Salford:

Age:

25% Aged under 2540% Aged 25 – 34

Family Size:

1.9 Averagenumber of children

DWP May 2007

Benefits – Highlighting the issue

Lone parent income support trends in Salford 1999-2007

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

450

500

Aug-99 Aug-00 Aug-01 Aug-02 Aug-03 Aug-04 Aug-05 Aug-06

Little Hulton

Salford Average

Source: DWP Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study Aug 1999 - May 2007

Benefits – The impact on children

Children of DWP benefit claimants in Salford

0

2000

4000

6000

8000

10000

12000

14000

16000

18000

Aug-99

Feb-00

Aug-00

Feb-01

Aug-01

Feb-02

Aug-02

Feb-03

Aug-03

Feb-04

Aug-04

Feb-05

Aug-05

Feb-06

Aug-06

Feb-07

Nu

mb

er o

f Ch

ildre

n

JSA IB Lone Parent Other IS Carer

Source: DWP Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study May 2007

66%

0.0-1.9% 1.9-3.8% 3.8-5.7% 5.7-7.6% 7.6-9.5% >9.5%

Break Points:

12

3

4

56

7

8

Lone Parents – Who are they?

Duration of claim and family size of lone parents in Salford

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Total 1 Child 2 Children 3 Children 4+ Children

5 years and over

2 - 5 years

1 - 2 years

6mths - 1 year

up to 6 months

Source: DWP GIS mapping tool 2008

Skills - What the data tells us

Proportion of population by highest level of qualification

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Little Hulton Salford GM NW England

No quals Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4/5 Other/ unknown

Census 2001• High estimated level of skills for life need

Lone parents – Causes of worklessness

• ‘Hotspot’ for teenage pregnancies

• Second highest number of 16-19 year old NEET in Salford – 59

• Low educational attainment– 4 out of 8 Little Hulton primary schools operating

below national average at Key Stage 2– Low levels of educational attainment e.g. Harrop

Fold only 19% achieving 5 A-C grade GCSEs inc. Maths & English

Lone parents – Other causal factors

• Declining marriage rates1991 2001

Little Hulton 38.5% 34.2%

Salford 41.6% 36.8%

• Increasing divorce rates1991 2001

Little Hulton 6.7% 10.9%

Salford 5.7% 9.2%

Source: Census 2001

A highly complex issue - Different perspectives

LONE

PARENTS

EMPLOYERS

DELIVERY

PARTNERS

Lifestylechoice

Unawareof

services

PostcodeSkills

Lack of confidence & stigma

ConfusionFear of

debt

Benefittrap

Skillsshortage

Valuelocal

employees

Lack ofsocial skills

Inflexibility part-time

jobs

Peer pressure/role models

Low levelskills

Benefittrap

Perceivedfraud

Barriers to

training

Worklessculture

WORKLESSNESS

Benefittrap

Poorperceptions

Crime

Transport

Childcare

Engagement

Crime in Little Hulton

• 1,627 incidents of anti-social behaviour (ASB):– Constitutes 8% of all ASB incidents in Salford– Third highest area for ASB in Salford

• 2,009 criminal offences recorded:– Constitutes 7% of all crimes in Salford– Third highest area for crime in Salford

• 724 incidents of domestic violence reported:– Constitutes 11% of reported domestic violence

incidents in Salford– Highest area in Salford

Period April 2007 – March 2008:

Crime in Little Hulton

1

32







UNIVERSAL SERVICES

LOCALITY PROVISION

‘COMMUNITY FOCUS’

Local engagement & support services e.g. One Stop Shop, ICT in the Community, Salford Foundation, Age Concern, CRIIS, FACL

Local enhanced provision e.g.IAG - Skills & Work Children’s Centres, Health Services, Welfare & Debt advice, Learn Direct, Youth Service

JCP/DWP/ LSC provision, Sure Start, Connexions

The current delivery system for lone parents (in Little Hulton) – an overview

The current Jobcentre Plus advisory system:Work focused interventions for lone parents

Date of claim 12 mths

Initial Work

Focused Interview

6 mths

Age of Youngest

Child?

2nd Work Focused Interview

1st Work Focused Interview

Annual Work

Focused Interviews

6 mthly Work

Focused Interviews

Quarterly Work

Focused Interviews

0-414-15

5-13

The Jobcentre Plus advisory system:New Deal for Lone Parents (NDLP)

Lone parents are eligible to participate in NDLP if they:

• Are aged 16 or over• Have a dependant child under 16• Are not working or • Working less than 16 hours a week• Are not an asylum seeker (unless they have exceptional leave to stay or have refugee status)

Jobcentre Plus – Support for Lone Parents

• Training for up to 52 weeks per 2 year period

• Access assistance with:– Childcare & registration fees costs for min 16

hrs per week– Travel costs– Training allowance £15 per week for min 6 hrs

training per week– Course fees & equipment on approval

The Jobcentre Plus advisory system:Increase in Lone Parent Obligations – Nov 2008

Date of claim 12 mths

Initial Work

Focused Interview

6 mths

Age of Youngest

Child?

2nd Work Focused Interview

1st Work Focused Interview

Annual Work

Focused Interviews

6 mthly Work

Focused Interviews

Quarterly Work

Focused Interviews

0-410-11

5-9

The Jobcentre Plus advisory system:Additional incentives

• Guaranteed Job Interview - where possible• Options & Choices Events• Greater flexibility in the use of work trials• In Work Credit - £40 tax free per week up to 52

weeks• In work Advisory support• In work emergency discretion fund

Jobcentre Plus – Support for lone parents

Many lone parents face multiple barriers:• Confidence• Childcare• Debt• Victims of domestic violence• Mental health conditions• Alcohol and drug dependency• Skills

Finance issues: A lone parent case study

Out of Work In Work 16 hrs+

CHILD BENEFIT

Income SupportWorking Tax Credit

Inc. childcare element

CHILD TAX CREDIT

Financial issues for lone parents

• Sonia gets a job on 1 November 2006• Lone parent with one child aged 10• Job 35 hours per week.• Gross annual salary £15,000• Childcare costs £40.00 per week• Rent is £50.00 per week• Council Tax £15.00 per week• Passported benefits e.g. free school meals

Finance issues: A lone parent case study

Tax year

2006 - 2007

Tax year

2007 - 2008

Tax year

2008 - 2009

Gross income £6410 £15,000 £15,000

Previous year Nil £6410 £15,000

Weekly Tax Credits

CTC £44.38

Max WTC £108.50

CTC £44.38

WTC £100.05

CTC 44.38

WTC £39.10

Weekly better off in work by:

£99.71 £91.81 £30.86

Real lives: What it’s like to be a workless lone parent in Little Hulton

• Case Study:– Single parent aged 25 years– 3 children aged 3, 5 & 8– Lived in LH all her life– Left school no qualifications– Became single parent after separating from a

violent partner– Attempted to get back into training &

employment without success

We have mapped our current response using the stages of commissioning

Quantitative DataPerception Data

Community Engagement

StrategyOperational Planning

Procurement

Performance MonitoringEvaluationLearning

Changing Delivery

Operational Delivery

Understanding need Planning & deciding

Reviewing Delivering

Understanding need

• Accurate DWP claimant count data available at SOA level and some other local data• Accurate Crime statistics• Feedback from consultations• Salford Childcare Sufficiency Audit

Strengths

• DWP data is currently 12 months out of date and does not segment lone parent claimants• Reliance on Census data for overall lone parent population, skills levels and family composition

• No sense of levels of new claims or churn in the system• Unable to measure the true level of need due to family support and ‘other’ networks• Unable to share data between agencies• No detailed management information on impact of lone parent provision at small area level e.g. Little Hulton

Weaknesses

Planning and deciding

• Clear governance and accountability at Sub-Regional and City-wide levels (Team Manchester, City Strategy, EDLSP)• Established and emerging structures at local area level (Neighbourhood Partnership Board, Little Hulton Task Group)• The new system for lone parents defines where additional service delivery is required

Strengths

• Lack of locally focused provision due to bulk service commissioning arrangements (DWP/LSC)

• Lack of integration and devolution around planning and decision making• Lack of co-ordination and management of engagement activities

Weaknesses

Delivering

• Some locally based services e.g. Skills & Work, Children’s Centre, One Stop Shop. Learn Direct• New delivery opportunities in healthy living centres, extended schools, libraries, RSLs• Increased support for lone parents through legislative change from November 2008

Strengths

• Numbers of workless lone parents are increasing• Significant issues with engagement with service provision• Short term funded projects and initiatives, unstable service provision• Impact of service provision unknown or limited• Lack of third sector presence/ no community anchor• Low take up of Salford based provision• Inflexibility to take up provision in Bolton• Low level referrals for Skills for Life diagnostic assessments – are skills needs being met?• Limited skills and work provision located in Children’s Centre• Poor performing schools and low levels of educational attainment• Lack of in work and ongoing support for lone parents• Lack of integration between delivery agencies• Finance including childcare costs seen as a major barrier to moving into work

Weaknesses

Reviewing and Learning

• Claimant count performance monitoring city-wide and by ward• Some services measured for impact on lone parents• Through Spotlighting:

• have developed a better understanding of how the Little Hulton community has evolved• Services have learned the impact of their policies through engaging in the process e.g. housing

Strengths

• Performance monitoring city wide not by neighbourhood and ward (except for LAA & CS targets)

• Impact of mainstream contracted provision not understood at local area level or systematically shared

• Impact of some lone parent provision unclear• DWP contracted & Skills and Work provision currently only tracked to 13 weeks in work• Distance travelled not measured

Weaknesses







UNIVERSAL SERVICES

LOCALITY PROVISION

‘WRAP AROUND’Local

engagement and integrated services:

LA level additional provision

JCP/DWP/LSC

“An integrated system that can engage, remove barriers and supports lone parents into skills and jobs”

Flexible & integrated system

A collective approach

Right services for the right people

Clear referral routes

Services to scale

Everyone on board – an urgent service and community priority

Pre-conditions:

Support from Government, Communities & Employers







Summary of the key strengths

Legislative changes

Community venues

Some good local & 3rd Sector provision

Governance

Employment opportunities in

Salford

Lone Parents in Little Hulton

Summary of the key issues for lone parents

Lone parents/Worklessness in

Little Hulton

Measuringimpact

of provision

Understandingthe lone parent

cohort

Integrationof planning & delivery

Culture of worklessness

Weakthird sector

Communityidentity

Finance

Childcare & Transport

Crime

Employerperceptions

Skills

The achievements so far

1. Improving understanding of needs • Extensive local stakeholder consultation including: 63 lone

parents; 50+ strategic and front line workers; and 5 employers

2. Strategic commissioning of new services• Successful ESF bid for short course provision• LSC allocated additional £458K for Personal, Community & Development Learning prioritising Little Hulton• Financial Capability worker recruited for Little Hulton• New and innovative wraparound provision commissioned

The achievements so far

3. Improving capacity of local delivery

• IAG front line worker capacity building sessions delivered in Little Hulton

• Re-launch of Skills and Work service to increase engagement and improve IAG

The remaining challenges in reversing the spiral of dependency

1.Use of real time data• Segmentation of lone parent data to inform planning &

commissioning• Lack of skills data

2.Raising aspirations & changing perceptions• Break cycle of inter-generational worklessness amongst lone

parents & raising ambition• Improving employer perceptions of Little Hulton• Address low community self-image


3. Developing the Delivery System• Establishing shared approach to planning, commissioning &

performance management (EDLSP)• Market development & capacity building to establish a

diverse delivery system (including the 3rd sector)• Review location & access of provision

4. Responsiveness & Personalisation• Engagement, outreach & flexible ‘wrap-around’ support• Ensuring skills for life assessment & diagnostic for all lone

parents• Review childcare sufficiency & appropriateness• Financial inclusion strategy & ‘independent support’


5.Crime• Consider action to address Crime issues linked to

worklessness

Questions and answers

Documents

Lone Parents/Worklessness Little Hulton