One parent families to be ‘hit hard financially’ – SVP

The Society of Saint Vincent de Paul (SVP) has warned that many one-parent families will be “hit hard financially” when the next stage of the Government’s One Parent Family Reform programme is implemented at the beginning of next month.

From July 2, families who receive One-Parent Family Payments (OFP), where their youngest child reaches seven years of age, will cease to get this payment and will be placed on a Jobseekers Allowance Transitional payment (JST) until their youngest child reaches 14 years, and then the mainstream Jobseekers Allowance until their youngest child reaches 18 years.

“The impact of this measure will be most keenly felt by heads of one-parent families who are in low paid employment, who will see their income reduce significantly,” the SVP said.