Budget 2023 briefing

Let’s build on the Budget to boost the chances of economically inactive mothers and those of pre-school children to get in to training and work

Laura Dewar, Head of Research

So, the dust has settled on the Budget. There were some real positives for families, most notably better support for childcare and there was extensive good news media coverage of the changes.  For someone who has campaigned for many years about the short comings of childcare costs under Universal Credit it was a relief to see that these are now to be paid upfront and the cap levels, originally set in 2005, are increased by nearly fifty per cent.  It was also great to see that the 30-hour childcare offer will be expanded to when a youngest child is aged 9 months.  But what was lacking on Budget day, and was largely hidden, was detail about stricter work measures for those families on Universal Credit. What we now know is that a further 800,000 parents will be ‘encouraged’ to move into work or increase their hours or face a sanction.

So who are these 800,000 people you may well ask?  Well, they are largely mothers who are already disadvantaged and on Universal Credit.  It includes mothers in couples who up until the Budget could decide to stay at home with their children if their partner was working.  It includes mothers of pre-school aged children who instead of being required to work 16 hours will need to work 30 hours.  It also includes mothers of primary aged children who will need to up their hours from 25 to 30 hours or face pressure from their work coach to do more. The bottom line is that the Budget is sending a clear message to families on Universal Credit that you cannot choose to stay at home with your children or decide what working pattern is in the best interests of your children.  Whilst this will impact coupled families the main impact will be on single parents and their children (75% of single parents are on Universal Credit and this will rise to 90% when Universal Credit is fully rolled out).

On a practical level the new requirements don’t align to the childcare offering. The 30 hours of childcare is only available 38 weeks of the year and unless someone literally works right next door to their childcare provider takes no account of the commuting time for work.  Whilst the increase to Universal Credit childcare levels are welcome they can still fall short for many families especially in the south of England and most especially in London. Childcare costs under Universal Credit are also only paid for the first two children.  As well as childcare costs there is the gaping hole in childcare provision across the country which is the most acute for children with a disability. Sufficiency of childcare is not solved by the Budget and the childcare offers do not match the work conditionality proposed by the Chancellor.

And where are all these 30-hour jobs?  There is a dire shortage of flexible and part-time roles as has been shown every year by the Timewise Flexible Working Index.  Where is the aspiration for parents? Currently a main carer or single parent who has a pre-school age child can have their job seeking turned off for up to a year to train to improve their job skills. This concession was introduced by a conservative welfare minister who recognised that parents with the youngest children were more likely to be younger themselves, to have the lowest qualifications and to be furthest from the job market.  The conservative minister saw the value in supporting these parents to improve their skills when their children were young to secure more stable employment in the future.

Whilst work can be positive for mothers and their children it is important that there is still some choice open to families around their employment. The majority of Belina Grow Employability Team work during the term-time so that they can spend quality time with their children. What works well for those mothers who we work with and work for us is a balance between caring and working and this looks different for families at different stages of their children’s life.  

But the bottom line is that the new policy to push disadvantaged mothers into employment without care and support just will not work.  Without targeted and holistic support it is likely to mean that disadvantaged mothers and their children could be pushed into further poverty and debt through the sanctions regime.  From my time at the charity Gingerbread our research on sanctions showed these were a distraction from job seeking and could push single parents further from work. 

At Belina Grow Employability it is great to see the mothers that we work with thrive and for many this is moving into jobs and for others it is about increasing their skills for the future.  We find that mothers usually progress in hours as their children get older.  Mandating mothers to work 30 hours a week when their children are pre-school is counterproductive and goes against the level of childcare support. For those mothers who are currently considered economically inactive it must be recognised that they may not have worked for many years and that they need targeted help.  

The Budget changes for families on Universal Credit seem rushed and not fully thought through.  What is a needed is a plan to support rather than punish mothers to move into employment with an eye to their future. A step in the right direction would be parent advisers in jobcentres and referral to specialist providers with the expertise to support mothers on a path to work. For mothers who are currently not in work it is important that training and opportunities for improving their skills remain on the table.  There also needs to be an opportunity that allows families on Universal Credit to balance their working and caring.  So, for instance allowing mothers to work more during term-time and less when their children are not in school or nursery. Overall increasing the hours that parents are expected to work needs careful consideration and thought. Work life balance should not just be the preserve of wealthier families.