The survey is part of a mixed-method evaluation study of Lone Parent Obligations (LPO). Lone Parent Obligations were introduced in November 2008 and since then, based on the age of their youngest child, lone parents have lost entitlement to Income Support solely on the grounds of being a lone parent. From May 2012, the age of the youngest child was lowered to five and over.
The primary aim of the evaluation overall is to explore whether and how lone parent employment interventions provide an effective incentive to look for paid employment, alongside an effective package of support for workless lone parents to enable them to find, enter and sustain paid employment.
The survey aims to understand lone parents’ decision-making around returning to work, and the relationship between decision-making and characteristics, attitudes, values and beliefs; destinations and behaviours; and progress through, and experience of, the LPO ‘journey’. The survey was carried out in two stages, with lone parents with a youngest child of seven or eight when they left Income Support. The first wave was conducted in 2010 while lone parents were still on Income Support. This second, follow-up survey took place between February and April 2012, around one year after lone parents’ eligibility for Income Support had ended. In this survey, 1,088 face-to-face interviews were conducted with lone parents.