Tackling child poverty delivery plan 2022-2026 - annex 5: impact of policies on child poverty

Employability Offer to Parents

The employability offer to parents is designed to bring together a range of services and support, including employability, childcare, health, transport and family wellbeing. There are two main objectives: one is to reduce out of work poverty by supporting unemployed and inactive parents/carers into work. The other is to reduce in-work poverty, by supporting parents who are in work to increase their wages and/or hours. The parental offer aims to provide a menu of support for every parent, which would be applied based on the need and circumstances of the individual parent/family.

• Income from employment

Potential size of impact

The ambition of the 'out-of-work' package is to reach around 51,000 parents, with an aim to ultimately move up to 10,000 into sustained work. In addition, the 'in-work' package ambition is to reach around 34,000 parents, with the aim to ultimately support up to 3,000 to increase their earnings. Across all of employability related policies (for example SIPs, challenge fund, work with employers and partners) we will be working to stretch this ambition to support up to 12,000 parents to access and sustain employment as a result of actions taken over the lifetime of the plan.

Type of impact

Direct impact through increasing income from employment.

Certainty of impact

Estimates derived from best available data from similar programmes, with estimated improvements to conversion rates to sustained outcomes based on possible improvements in performance resulting from the integrated approach. A small lag in outcomes (for both in and out of work support) and some attrition (out of work support only) was assumed. However, these estimates are highly optimistic and outcomes may well be achieved later and/ or at lower rates.

Priority families targeted by policy:

• Lone parents
• 3+ children
• Disabled
• Minority ethnic
• Baby < 1
• Mothers aged <25

The proposition will aim to target unemployed and inactive parents/carers and also those already employed but still in poverty. Delivery will be channelled through the infrastructure already in place for No one Left Behind across the 32 local authorities. The menu of support would be the same for every parent, but applied based on the need and circumstances of the individual parent or family unit.

Tracking progress

A monitoring and evaluation plan will be developed. We will ensure that this aligns appropriately with ongoing and planned monitoring and evaluation activity in the employability area, for instance around the Shared Measurement Framework, No One Left Behind and the Young Person's Guarantee.