1. C HANGES TO I NCOME S UPPORT

2. W HAT ’ S CHANGING Some parents will now need to take part in – work-related activities work focused interviews

3. W ORK RELATED ACTIVITIES

4. W HAT ARE W ORK - RELATED A CTIVITIES Could include, for example, undertaking training in literacy or numeracy, or to improve IT skills. Voluntary work, for example, shop assistant in a charity shop. Where it is determined that some work-related activity is necessary, the lone parent or responsible carer will be able to restrict their availability for such activity to the hours that their youngest child is in school or in the care of a responsible adult.

5. W ORK - RELATED ACTIVITY Unless you are exempt you can be required to undertake some ‘work- related activity’ if you are taking part in work-focused interviews and are entitled to income support as a lone parent and you do not have children under 3 years old If you do not undertake work-related activity without ‘good cause’ you may be sanctioned

6. GOOD CAUSE Matters which may be taken into account when deciding if a lone parent has shown good cause for failing to take part in a work-focused interview (although the list is not exhaustive) include:- Caring responsibilities that make it unreasonable for you to do the job and attend an interview. This should include whether suitable childcare would have been reasonable available for a reasonable cost language, learning or literacy difficulties such that the parent did not understand the nature of the requirement medical or dental appointment for her/himself, or someone s/he has caring responsibilities for, that would have been unreasonable to rearrange religious custom or practice that prevented attendance at that particular time transport difficulties and excessive travel expensive attending the funeral of a relative or close friend disability making it impractical to attend at the time appointed and pressures that are likely to cause unreasonable physical or mental stress. attendance at an interview for employment, or if s/he is actively pursuing opportunities as a self- employed earner the parent, or a dependant or person s/he cares for, suffered an accident, sudden illness or relapse of a physical or mental health condition the parent received misleading information from an official.

7. L ONE PARENTS AND RESPONSIBLE CARERS They will receive work preparation support based on individual need, which will better prepare them for looking for work in a competing labour market. The type of work-related activity that is identified as necessary to the individual’s prospects of finding work will be at the adviser’s discretion and must have regard to any limitations that the individual may have due to health, disability or the availability of suitable child care.

8. W ORK FOCUSED INTERVIEWS

9. W HICH LONE PARENTS HAVE TO HAVE INTERVIEWS Lone parents who are entitled to income support have to participate in a work-focused interview with a personal adviser A lone parent may also be required to have interviews at varying intervals

10. L ONE PARENTS WITH A CHILD AGED ONE, TWO, THREE OR FOUR ON OR AFTER 28 A PRIL 2014 A lone parent who is responsible for and living in the same household as a child has to take part in one or more work-focused interviews if s/he:- gets income support because s/he is a lone parent; and is not in one of the other categories of people who can claim income support. Jobcentre Plus can decide how often a lone parent has to take part in a work-focused interview. From this date, Jobcentre Plus can no longer waive the requirement to take part in an interview.

11. E XEMPTIONS FROM THE INTERVIEW REQUIREMENT A lone parent does not have to take part in an interview with a personal adviser if:- 1. s/he has reached, or is over, the state pension age for a woman or 2. s/he is under the age of 18; or 3. s/he is responsible for and living in the same household as a child aged under one; or 4. s/he is already required to take part in an interview with a personal adviser because the area in which s/he lives is subject to a work- focused interview requirement for certain benefits, or this requirement has been waived or deferred

12. L ONE PARENTS WITH A CHILD AGED ONE, TWO OR THREE BEFORE 28 A PRIL 2014 A lone parent who got income support had to take part in a work-focused interview every six months if s/he was responsible for and living in the same household as a child aged one, two or three, unless s/he was exempt

13. T HE PERSONAL ADVISER INTERVIEW A lone parent will be expected to take part in a work- focused interview with a personal adviser. Attending and participating in an interview will be a condition of entitlement for income support, although Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) staff and personal advisers will be able to defer or waive the interview requirement in certain circumstances.defer or waive the interview requirement If the interview is waived or deferred, the client will be treated as having complied with the requirement to attend an interview

14. T AKING PART IN AN INTERVIEW The interview will usually take place at a Jobcentre Plus office local to the lone parent's home. Occasionally, the interview may take place at the home of the lone parent. This may occur where the personal adviser considers it unreasonable for the parent to attend the office because it would cause her/him undue inconvenience or endanger her/his health. The purpose of the interview is to:- assess a lone parent's prospects for existing or future employment assist or encourage a lone parent to enhance her/his prospects of employment identify activities which a lone parent may undertake to strengthen her/his employment prospects identify any current or future training or educational needs refer a lone parent who wishes to find work to suitable vacancies.

15. T AKING PART IN AN INTERVIEW A lone parent who has to attend an interview with a personal adviser will be expected actively to participate in the interview process. Where asked, s/he will be expected to provide answers and appropriate information to questions about, for example:- her/his employment prospects what programmes s/he could pursue to help her/him obtain employment her/his childcare options and the extent to which this could restricts her/his ability to obtain employment. The personal adviser may make suggestions as to appropriate courses of action the parent could take to enhance her/his employment prospects. However, there is no compulsion to accept or act on any of these proposals and no penalties will be imposed if a parent fails to do so.

16. A CTION PLAN A claimant is expected to assist in the completion of an action plan for employment as part of the interview requirement F URTHER INTERVIEWS Once a lone parent has had one interview, s/he will be required to have further interviews. If the lone parent was treated as having complied with the interview requirement because the interview was waived, s/he will be required to have further interviews after the date of the waiver, depending on the age of her/his child or children. However, if the circumstances prompting the original waiver still exist, a further waiver will be made

17. W HAT HAPPENS IF THE LONE PARENT DOES NOT COMPLY WITH THE INTERVIEW The lone parent has five working days to show good cause for not taking part in an interview, unless s/he can get an extension of time. If s/he fails to show good cause within the five- day time period, or if s/he makes representations that do not amount to good cause, the personal adviser will issue a decision that the parent failed to take part in the interview without showing good cause within the prescribed period.

18. GOOD CAUSE Matters which may be taken into account when deciding if a lone parent has shown good cause for failing to take part in a work-focused interview (although the list is not exhaustive) include:- language, learning or literacy difficulties such that the parent did not understand the nature of the requirement medical or dental appointment for her/himself, or someone s/he has caring responsibilities for, that would have been unreasonable to rearrange religious custom or practice that prevented attendance at that particular time transport difficulties attending the funeral of a relative or close friend disability making it impractical to attend at the time appointed attendance at an interview for employment, or if s/he is actively pursuing opportunities as a self-employed earner the parent, or a dependant or person s/he cares for, suffered an accident, sudden illness or relapse of a physical or mental health condition the parent received misleading information from an official.

19. R EDUCTION If the lone parent is claiming income support but has failed without good cause to take part in an interview, s/he will have her income support reduced. The parent's income support will be reduced from the first day of the next benefit week by 20 per cent of the income support personal allowance for a person aged 25 or over (from £72.40 to £57.92) Income support cannot be reduced to a sum less than ten pence a week.

20. A PPEALS A lone parent has the right to appeal against a decision that:- s/he has failed to take part in an interview with a personal adviser; or s/he has failed to show good cause for such a failure; or s/he has failed to show good cause within the prescribed period. There is no separate right of appeal against a decision terminating or reducing benefit as a result of an officer's decision. The right of appeal is to the First-tier Tribunal.