GOVERNMENT cuts are set to hit lone parents.
The Department of Social Care is seeking Tynwald approval to changes that will mean that lone parents with older children would no longer qualify for income support simply because they were a lone parent.
The changes would require lone parents to look for work once their child reaches the age of 12 rather than 16.
Lone parents whose children are aged between five and 11 would have to attend work-focused interviews when they first claimed income support in order to be entitled to benefit.
They would then be required to attend work-focused interviews every 6 months.
Following Tynwald approval it is proposed the changes they will come into effect on April 1.
Any lone parents receiving income support at that time whose youngest or only child is already aged 12 or over, and who would otherwise lose their entitlement immediately, could continue to qualify for income support as a lone parent until October 1.
The department will be writing to all lone parents affected by these changes.
More on this story in Monday’s Isle of Man Examiner