Almost all of the UK’s 2 million single parent families receive some form of benefit, whether they are in or out of work. As a group, they are significantly affected by the introduction of universal credit – the government’s flagship scheme to combine six current benefits into one – with all single parents due to…
Out of 2 million single parent households in the UK, there are around 750,000 single parents currently on benefit. Theirs are some of the most financially vulnerable families, for whom every penny counts. Today, Gingerbread launched a major new research report on child maintenance, which looks in depth at the maintenance situations of single parents…
Today Gingerbread is publishing new research that looks at single parents’ experiences of the package of government-funded employment support, from the Work Programme and Jobcentre Plus. It explores the job-seeking journeys of single parents and questions whether the support on offer is delivering for them and, ultimately, for the taxpayer. Around one in four households…
Over the last week we’ve seen a barrage of new reports published which collectively show what we’ve been seeing at Gingerbread for some time – many families are being pushed to breaking point by the squeeze from austerity measures, and none more so than single parent families. The latest research from the TUC shows that…
Changes are needed now to universal credit and employment, in order to make work pay. In less than a fortnight the Chancellor will make his autumn statement, announcing key details about how the new system of benefits and tax credits will operate when it is introduced next year. Universal credit has been championed by ministers…
There’s a steady stream of political and media debate on how more single parents should be in work, and increasing pressure on them to do so once their youngest child reaches the age of five. However, while 59% of single parents are now in work, many working single parents continue to face poverty, instability and…
Today, one in five single parents in full-time work is bringing up their family in poverty. But new research from Gingerbread shows that government measures intended to help the lowest-paid workers will actually benefit them far less than workers on higher incomes. It is a well-rehearsed argument that the current economic climate means there are…