1. Active Labour Market Policy for Lone Parents: the UK Context Jonathan Portes Chief Economist UK Department for Work and Pensions

2. Our overall labour market strategy.. Macroeconomic stability Labour market flexibility Anti discrimination law and policy Making work pay Active labour market policy

3. Making work pay: tax credits and the minimum wage Gains to work for lone parents (30 hours, minimum wage)

4. But system is complex and MDRs high

5. Considerable success..

6. But much more will be required 40% 45% 50% 55% 60% 65% 70% 75% Spring 04Spring 05Spring 06Spring 07Spring 08spring 09spring10 Lone parent employment rate Business CaseCurrent PerformanceTrajectory required for 70% by 2010

7. New Deal for Lone Parents Programme structure: –Mandatory work focused interviews to “sell” the programme –But programme participation purely voluntary –Open to all lone parents on benefit –Help with access to childcare, jobsearch, training; but still workfirst approach –Piloting further elements: in work credit, worksearch premium, more childcare support

8. Implications for evaluation -Voluntary nature raises selection issues -But correlation between take-up and outcomes suggests it’s not the usual problem -And is NDLP really a “programme” – or is it about information/signposting? -Suggests that how and by whom at least as important as what -If key role of NDLP is catalytic, how do we isolate effects?

9. Key future issues -Explaining heterogeneous outcomes: geography, health status, ethnicity, etc -New Deal for Lone Parents Plus: evaluating a package of interventions -Quasi-mandatory work-related activity