Work Focussed Interview

Hi
My wife's friend has been attending WFI's, but she has a daughter in 6th form for which she is claiming Child Benefit. I thought that she didn't need to look for work until the CB ends, as was the case in my family. Have the rules been changed?
Regards
Peter Hopkinson

Hi Peter,

This isn't an area in which I have specialist knowledge, but I suspect that the days when single parents could wait until their children left school before they were required to take steps towards moving into work are long since over.

Steve

Peter,
For single people with responsibility for a child , with limited exceptions , you now cannot claim Income support when your youngest child is over 10 years old (as of October last year) and under 7 years of age as of October this year.
This is unless the person fits the criteria for claiming IS for another reason ..ie Illness (claim prior to intro of ESA)

see
here

With this change the DWP have bought in WFI's to "help" single parents access the job market when they transit to JSA.

There are more detailed links with regard to this (including legislation ) but the above explains it explicitly to the layman.

Rich

Hi Rich,

Sorry but your link brings up an error page www.direct.gov.uk/error/404.html

Jim

Hi Jim and thanks ,

looks like i didn't paste the full address into the link thingy . Ahh address was too long to cut and paste in the link box. Here is the full one

Income support

Rich

Hi Steve, Rich and Jim

Thank you for pointing my nose in the right direction. You have jogged my memory, I recall this being proposed some years ago now you mention it. It's just that I thought this friend might have been unjustly harrassed. I was able to claim IB for my wife until my daughter was 20 and the CB stopped, My IB reduced and I then had to claim IS so she could remain a "kept woman". I was then sent for WFI's even though it is impossible for me to work but yet my wife was excused as she got a sympathetic interviewer and I only get LRC, what a laugh, he gave her a claim form for CA which was not possible, but I've learn't to shut up while in front.


many thanks

Peter