Activating Lone Parents: An Evidence-Based Appraisal of the Welfare-to-Work Reform in Britain

The 2008 welfare reform introduced by the previous Labour government requires (most) lone parents with older children to be available for work. This article examines the potential effect of this reform on the employment rate of lone parents and whether the age of the youngest child is a good indicator of ‘ability to work’. It suggests that reform will not lead to the desired increase as the target group is too small and the levels of multiple disadvantages within the group too high. ‘Ability to work’ needs to be conceptualised more broadly if it is to mean ‘ability to get a job’.