ABSTRACT
The issue of welfare benefits is a continuing preoccupation for governments intent on reducing public expenditure. Sixteen to eighteen-year-old single parents currently receive the princely sum of just over £53 per week in Income Support (2012 figures). First, New Labour and then the Coalition Government sought to limit taxation and welfare spending, focusing attention on parenting and ‘cycles of deprivation’. Parenting in the early years was addressed by the Sure Start programme under New Labour – Sure Start offered some opportunities for work with young women who were mothers, though the programme usually focused on their parenting. The Allen Review on Early Intervention (Allen, 2011) has provided an overriding point of reference for a cross-party consensus in the current period.
