Harman: determined to take action

Harman to Help Loan Mothers Back to Work

The Government's determination to ease lone mothers back into the workplace comes as surveys show that nine out of 10 lone mothers want to work. At present there are over a million lone mothers in Britain, bringing up two million children "on the breadline".

New proposals include a range of measures to help lone mothers, including inviting them to receive advice on job-seeking, and a determination to ensure that absent fathers pay proper maintenance.

Ms Harman said, "Too many lone mothers in Britain have been left to depend on benefits for far too long, and this Government is determined to take action."

Lone mothers in Britain were less likely to work and more likely to depend on benefits than their European counterparts, were less likely to work than married or cohabiting mothers, and stayed "trapped" on benefit longer than other unemployed people, Ms Harman said.

Being unable to work left mothers "poor, powerless and unable to fend for themselves and their children", and eroded their confidence in their ability to work.

"Being unemployed also stores up problems for the future," she went on. "Today's unemployed lone mother becomes tomorrow's poorest pensioner, forced

to depend on means-tested benefits to top up her pension. "And being out of work is not just a problem for lone mothers, it is a problem for their children too.

"Recent research suggests that the daughters of lone mothers who are not in work are more likely to become lone mothers themselves than the daughters of lone mothers who are in work."

Lone mothers had been "stigmatised" by politicians and the media _ "They have been portrayed as scapegoats for all of society's ills." They had been "pilloried for being feckless, work-shy and a drain on the public purse", although most did not choose to be alone and "all the evidence" showed that they would rather work than rely on benefit.

Meanwhile, those who found work were accused of "neglecting" their children, which was "absurd". Mr Harman said, "All the evidence indicates that having a mother in paid work is good for children.

"It is a passport to a better standard of living and better prospects throughout their lives." There was also evidence which suggested that apart from immediate material benefits, daughters of working lone mothers tended to do better at school, and both sons and daughters of working lone mothers were "more likely to have a job when they grow up than children of lone mothers who don't work".