The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) welfare reform green paper, published this week, included plans to place an expectation on lone parents with children aged seven or over to look for employment. The paper also proposed privatising welfare-to-work services.

But Kate Green, chief executive of the Child Poverty Action Group, said many of the government's proposals, which also include abolishing incapacity benefit, increased pressure on parents and disabled people.

"Rushing parents into inappropriate jobs risks poverty pay and jobs which undermine family responsibilities," she said.