News

On 13th August the Lord Provost of Dundee hosted a Civic Reception for One Parent Families Scotland to mark their 25 years work in the City.

One Parent Families Scotland's - Choices service has been given funding through the Barclays Horizons programme to support lone parents in making the transition out of debt and poverty via a mix of support offerings; problem identification (via financial health checks) and prevention via financial training, and capacity building.

On 15th July, OPFS 101 Project in Dundee had a very successful visit from Housing & Communities Minister, Alex Neil, viewing the work being done to help parents back into employment.

As part of our aim to provide early intervention family support, Dundee Community Family Support Project devised and ran a successful Community Based Child Protection course.

Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) is the new benefit paid to people whose ability to work is limited due to ill health or disability. From the 27th of October, 2008 it replaced both Incapacity Benefit (IB) and Income Support (IS), paid on the grounds of incapacity for work.

Yvette Cooper, the Secretary of State for Work & Pensions, has announced that the government will be piloting a new earnings disregard for lone parents from 2010. This will mean that lone parents who work less than 16hours per week will be able to keep £50 of their earnings, rather than the current £20 before their Income Support is affected.

Would a 3-day work preparation training combined with a 2-week work experience with Marks & Spencer help you to reach that goal?
If the answer is yes, you may be interested in our Marks and Start Return to Work programme starting on 8th September 2009.

We are always looking for lone parents who are willing to speak to the media.
We are frequently approached by journalists from newspapers, magazines, radio and television requesting an interview with lone parents on a variety of issues.

If you have burning issues that you feel you would like to express to the press, then please contact the volunteer coordinator through the online contact form.

From October 2009, lone parents whose youngest child is 10 years old or older will no longer be entitled to Income Support and instead will have to claim Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA).

Our Lone Parent Rights Guide factsheets are now available, updated for 2009.

These 12 factsheets contain essential information on a range of issues for lone parents and organisations working with lone parents including benefits, tax credits, maternity rights, legal issues, childcare and maintenance.