Welfare Reform Bill
4:47 pm
Kate Bell: Like the CPAG, our view on this is evidence-based. We are interested in what works in respect of getting parents back to work. The Department for Work and Pensions published its own research last summer, saying that the impact of sanctions on single parents’ decisions about work was negligible. That research looked at the actual barriers to people taking up jobs, such as child care, lack of flexibility around working and difficulties with caring for children with disability and health issues. We have seen a big increase in single-parent employment over the last 10 years without the impact of sanctions. We do not think sanctions are the most effective way of achieving this change.