§ Dr. Lynne JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make a statement on the impact of the New Deal on the incomes of lone parents who have been helped into work. [92473]
§ Angela EagleThe New Deal for Lone Parents provides practical help and advice for lone parents on Income Support who want to make the move into work. Since it was launched, the service has helped over 16,500 lone parents into work.
In addition, a range of new measures will mean that lone parents will be even better off in work. Key initiatives include; the National Minimum Wage; the new 10p starting rate of income tax, from which people on low incomes gain up to £2.88 a week; and the Working Families Tax Credit which, from October, will guarantee a minimum income of £200 a week for every family in full-time work.
Analysis of benefit administration data for a sample of around 300 lone parents who moved into work and on to Family Credit following participation in the New Deal for Lone Parents as at March 1998 showed that they were, on average, £40 a week better off.