What happens to lone parents
A hard copy of this report summary can be obtained by contacting Paul Noakes [E-Mail: Paul.Noakes@dwp.gsi.gov.uk] or by writing to him at the 'Social Research Division, Department for Work and Pensions, 4th Floor, Adelphi, 1-11 John Adam Street, London WC2N 6HT'.
Research Report No. 77
By Reuben Ford, Alan Marsh and Louise Finlayson
The research on which this report is based is part of the Programme of Research Into Low Income Families (PRILIF), conducted by the Policy Studies Institute (PSI) on behalf on the Department. A random representative sample of lone parents was interviewed in 1991 and again in 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996 and most recently in 1998. This report presents findings from the first four years. The main findings are:
- By 1995 lone parents reported feeling more in control of their lives. Improvements in outlook were associated with improvements in financial circumstances;
- Over the four years, there was a noticeable move toward independence;
- The importance of paid work in establishing this, at least partial independence is clear, as was the role of Family Credit in assisting lone parents into work and maintaining their position in the labour market;
- Payment of maintenance raises the probability of lone parents finding and keeping paid work. Its effects, though, are soon overtaken by subsequent changes, especially repartnering;
- Out of work lone parents' attempts to enhance their qualifications and skills through training significantly improved their chances of later taking up paid work;
- Movements into work were slow however. Forty-six per cent of households remained workless in 1995 (household is the unit of analysis to control for the effect of repartnering, ie. although those originally lone parents in 1991 may still be workless, they may have repartnered with someone in work);
- Those who remained without work continued to experience difficulty in budgeting and from time to time suffered material hardship; and
- Poor health, and the poor health of children, were closely associated with relative material hardship, and acted as a further barrier to finding and keeping paid work.
Introduction
This is the eighth report in the DSS/PSI Programme of Research Into Low Income Families (PRILIF) series, carried out by the DSS/PSI Social Security Research Team. It is the fifth report concentrating on Britain's lone parent population and the first to look solely at data which tracks lone parents from 1991 through to 1995. A random representative sample of lone parents was interviewed in 1991 and again in 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996 and most recently in 1998. This report presents findings from the first four years.
Family change and the dynamics of lone parenthood
Of the 623 respondents in the 1995 sample, nearly eight out of ten remained alone. Some of these had partnered since 1991 and then split up before the 1995 interview. Most of the remainder had new partners but some had reconciled to an earlier one - most of these had been separated from marriage. Two thirds of these 120 new partners were in full time work.
Fourteen per cent of 1991 lone parents no longer had dependent children. Many of these non-dependent children remained in the parent's household. One in five of the sample had new babies or were expecting soon. Half these new children coincided with new partnerships and marriages, half did not.
Owner occupiers and social tenants maintained their housing positions consistently, while private renters tended to be more active in the housing market.
Movement into work was slow. The majority of 1991's respondents remained economically inactive or seeking work (63 per cent were out of work in 1991). Forty-six per cent of households remained without a worker in 1995.
The main determinants of leaving lone parenthood by 1995 appeared to be being young, or having older children. Factors associated with continuing lone parenthood were previous receipt of maintenance and being on Income Support in 1991. Changes in health status (improvement or decline) also raised the likelihood of leaving lone parenthood, independently of other factors. Of the two routes of exit from lone parenthood, repartnering takes place sooner than children leaving dependency (many of these non-dependant children remain in the parental home). The two most frequent reasons given for remaining a lone parent were a preference for 'independence' and not having found a suitable partner.
Child Support, Absent Parents and the CSA
The 623 respondents remaining in the 1995 sample had a total 1003 dependent-aged children living with them. Half the absent parents were reported to have a new partner and a third to have children in their household. Four in ten absent parents were also known to have full-time work though a fifth were known to be out of work; the circumstances of the rest were unknown.
A third (107) of parents with care recalled violent exchanges with the absent parent during the last year of marriage or cohabitation and seven out of ten of these (77) had been injured, which reflects the findings of earlier research.
Of the minority (29%) getting regular maintenance payments in 1991, about three quarters continued to receive them, some intermittently. Overall, a third (34% of the sample) had some contact with the CSA by 1995. Of these a further third had obtained an assessment. Five per cent of the sample had a CSA assessment in payment (again a figure similar to that found by the PSI 1994 cross-section survey). Only 11 lone parents (two per cent) who had not been receiving maintenance in 1993 were in receipt in 1995 as a result of CSA activity.
Employment, benefits and work incentives
More than a third spent all four survey years without any paid employment. Only a fifth had full time work of more than 16 hours a week throughout, though the great majority in full time work in 1991 kept their jobs (87 per cent). The remainder moved between staying at home, doing either full time or, as often, part time work, and periods of looking for work.
Only ten respondents were on any training or in full time education in 1995. However, out of work lone parents' attempts to enhance their qualifications and skills through training significantly improved their chances of taking up paid work later. The other important factors in predicting whether a lone parent had a full time job in 1995 were being in a job in 1991 and avoiding having a new baby.
Combining those in part-time work for less than 16 hours per week with the non-workers in 1991 gives sufficient basis for predicting the move into full time work across the all-important 16 hours per week threshold. The important determining factors were: avoiding having new children; being in part-time work in 1991; and being an owner-occupier. Owner occupiers tend to be older, better qualified and more closely attached to the labour market.
The majority of those who moved from being out of work in 1991 to a paid job in 1995 had no partner at either date. However, those starting as lone parents out of work in 1991 and ending in 1995 with a job of 16 hours or more and a partner, tended to find a partner first.
Family Credit continued to play an important role in retaining in work those working and claiming in 1991 and, just as important, in assisting the entry of new workers into the full time labour market (working 16 hours a week or more). There was a close association between intending to work and claiming in 1991 and succeeding in finding work and claiming Family Credit by 1995. Take-up rates of Family Credit continued to be high and eligible non-claimants did not remain so for long.
The small net drift into work was associated with an overall increase in cohort members' incomes, though about a third of those in work all the time saw falls of more than ten per cent, due sometimes to loss of maintenance or to reducing their working hours. Joining a new partner added little to the household's average equivalent income over time (people tended to partner those on a similar income or out of work if they were out of work). Wage expectations were low in 1991 and subsequently declined in 1994, especially among those with some work experience since 1991, but by 1995 expectations had risen again, particularly among those still out of work.
A comparison was made between reservation incomes of lone parents out of work in 1991 and the subsequent total incomes they actually achieved in work in 1995. Provided they worked more than 16 hours a week, there was a close match between expected and achieved incomes in work.
Family Welfare
Lone parents' optimism or pessimism (self-assessed view of future family welfare) in 1991 was a poor guide to their subsequent success in the labour market, to raising their income or getting out of hardship. Levels of material well-being were closely related to feelings of happiness and to lone parents' judgements of themselves as competent people with control over their lives.
Identifying factors influencing improvements in well-being is more complex than establishing what leads to movements into work. The best predictors of 1991 lone parents improving their material welfare between 1991 and 1995 were not being in hardship in 1991, joining a working partner, getting a new job or having a new baby. The decision to have a new baby can be viewed as a positive affirmation that the lone mother's material well-being has improved.
Poor health in the family was a hidden barrier to entering employment and raising income and family well-being. Children developing health problems was strongly related to the experience of hardship.
The main routes out of severe hardship (rather than simply improving material welfare) generally were entering employment or finding a working partner. Getting a job appeared more important than leaving lone parenthood.
Conclusions
Those who remain without work continue to have difficulties in family budgeting and the majority experience relative material hardship, at least from time to time. Poor health, and the poor health of children, are closely associated with relative material hardship, and act as a further barrier to finding and keeping paid work.
In contrast, lone parents reported feeling more in control of their lives by 1995. Improvements in outlook were associated with improvements in financial circumstances.
Although the picture is one of stability, what movement there has been in four years indicates a bias towards independence. Even those with new partners tended to have their own full-time jobs too. The importance of paid work in establishing this, at least partial independence, is clear, as is the role of Family Credit in assisting lone parents into work and defending their position in the labour market. Less obvious is the similar effect of maintenance payments. Maintenance seems to function at first as a 'private sector' parallel to the 'public sector' Family Credit (or in combination with it) to raise the probability of lone parents finding and keeping paid jobs. Its effects, though, are soon overtaken by subsequent changes, especially joining new partners.
Other relevant publications
- Marsh A and McKay S (1993) “Families, Work and Benefits,” London: Policy Studies Institute.
- McKay S and Marsh A (1994) “Lone Parents and Work, ”(Department of Social Security Research Report No. 25), London: HMSO
- McKay S and Marsh A (1995) “Why Didn't They Claim?, ”London: Policy Studies Institute.
- Ford R, Marsh A and McKay S (1995) “Changes in Lone Parenthood,” (Department of Social Security Report No. 40), London: HMSO
- Bryson A and Marsh A (1996)“ Leaving Family Credit,” (Department of Social Security Research Report No. 48), London: HMSO
- Ford R (1996) Childcare in the Balance, London: Policy Studies Institute.
- Marsh A, Ford R and Finlayson L (1997) lone parents, Work and Benefits, (Department of Social Security Research Report No. 61), London: HMSO.
- Ford R, Marsh A and Finlayson L (1998) What Happens to lone parents(Department of Social Security Research Report No. 77), London: HMSO.