Hain moves to get more back to work

Lone parents will be required to seek work when their youngest child reaches the age of seven, said Work and Pensions Secretary Peter Hain, who declared he wanted to "re-ignite the jobs crusade" that started when Labour came to power in 1997.

The announcement was criticised by some groups as "forcing" parents back to work, with warnings that it would have a negative impact on the most vulnerable. The measures were unveiled as new figures showed that the number of people in work has reached record levels and unemployment has fallen to its lowest for over a year.

Employment increased by 93,000 in the three months to May to 29.08 million, the biggest total since records began in 1971, and a rise of 180,000 over the past year. Unemployment fell by 35,000 over the same quarter to 1.66 million, the lowest for over a year, giving a jobless rate of 5.4%. The number of people claiming jobseeker's allowance was 13,800 down in June at 864,100, the 11th monthly fall in the past year.

Ministers welcomed the new figures as they published a Green Paper which targets long-term claimants, single parents, minorities and young people out of work. Those groups will also be the target of a "jobs pledge" with public and private sector employers, designed to get 250,000 into the workplace over the next three years. Firms will offer guaranteed interviews to applicants on benefit who showed they were "ready and prepared for work" under a scheme first announced in this year's Budget.

Mr Hain told MPs that from October 2008, being a lone parent would stop being a trigger for income support for those whose children were all 12 or over. Instead they would be entitled to Jobseeker's Allowance, which requires claimants to actively seek work, with help offered by the state. But, in an unexpectedly tough move, Mr Hain said the Government would go far further than the recommendation of a report last year that suggested the age be cut to 11 by dropping it to seven.

Left-leaning think tank the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) said the policy was "back to front" and suggested all lone parents whose children were of school age should be asked to go back to work.

Head of social policy Kate Stanley said: "By focusing on lone parents of children 12 and over, the Government will increase the complexity of the system but is unlikely to help many into work. Some lone parents have good reasons for not working, like having a disabled child. It would be better to ask every lone parent of a school-age child to work and decide on a case-by-case basis how to help them do it."

Claire Tickell, chief executive of the children's charity, NCH, said: "Forcing parents in to work is not the answer, and will have a negative impact on the most vulnerable. Although all efforts should be made to help lone parents get back in to work, it should be a choice based on the best interests of the family, not a rule which could force some parents back at their detriment."

Prime Minister Gordon Brown held a meeting in Downing Street with company chief executives involved in a scheme aimed at helping people off long-term benefits and into work. He said 2.5 million new jobs had been created in the last 10 years but there were still people without jobs and employers looking to fill vacancies. "There are still large numbers of people who are without jobs and yet there are large numbers of vacancies within the economy and there is a group of employers who are looking for people with the right skills, soft skills and technical skills, for jobs that they want to fill."