Almost half of children with single parents living in relative poverty July 2022

Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS)

Some 49% of children in single-parent families were in relative poverty at the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.  This equates to 1.5 million children in 2019-20, up from 40% in 2013-14* - the number is almost double the rate for children living in two-parent families (25%). 

Families and households in the UK 2023 (Office for National Statistics)

  1. There were 3.2 million lone-parent families in 2023, an increase from 3.0 million in 2013.
  2. 85% are lone mother households. 
  3. There is an increase in one-parent families with adult children only (an additional 130,000 families). 
  4. Lone fathers accounted for 15% (477,000) and were more likely to include adult children only (52%) than lone-mother families (34%)

SPIN member statistics - Single parents are money, time and energy poor

  • 7229 single parent families in Brighton & Hove (2021 Census)
  • 79% of our members do not receive any maintenance monies from their ex-partner.
  • 92% of our members identify as women.  Women traditionally work in lower income jobs and work more part-time jobs. Single motherhood has been found to have a detrimental impact on children's attainment due to reduced economic circumstances.
  • Single parents live in more rented accommodation and social housing due to this lack of income and are the main group that need emergency housing when they become homeless.
  • 61% of our members said that they shared care (often instead of money) but this can be erratic and unreliable making working outside the home problematic.   This controlling arrangement without regular respite adversely affects the mental and physical health of the main parent.  The parents remain in an unsatisfactory relationship despite separating, causing conflict and stress impacting on the whole family.
GINGERBREAD (National single parent organisation) statistics last updated July 2024
Single parent families in the UK  
  • There are 2 million single parents with dependent children in the UK (1) 
  • 1 in 4 families with dependent children in the UK are headed by a single parent (1) 
  • 3.3 million dependent children live in a single parent family (1) 
  • 89% of single parent families are single mother families, 11% are single father families (1) 
  • The average age of a single parent is 39 years (2) 
  • Around 9 out of 10 single parents are women (2) 
  • Less than 1% of single parents are teenagers, and this continues to decline (2) 
  • 33% of single parents are disabled, compared to 15% of couple parents (2) 
  • 80% of single parents are White/White British which is the same proportion as couple parents. 5% of single parents are Asian/Asian British compared to 12% of couple parents. 9% of single parents are Black/Black British compared to 4% of couple parents. 3% of single parents are from Mixed/Multiple ethnic groups compared to 1% of couple parents (2) 
  • 2 out of 3 (66%) single parents are in employment (2) 
  • 44% of children in single parent families are in poverty compared to 26% in couple families (3) 
  • 29% of single parent households with dependent children are in fuel poverty compared to 14% of couple households with dependent children (4) 
  • 36% of single parent families with dependent children have no savings compared to 17% of couple families with dependent children (5) 
  • 13% of single parent households with dependent children used a food bank in the last 12 months compared to 3% of couple households with dependent children (6) 

Sources

  1. Office for National Statistics (ONS), released 8th May 2024. Families and household dataset, using 2023 Labour Force Survey data, Tables 1,3 and 4. www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/families/datasets/familiesandhouseholdsfamiliesandhouseholds 
  2. Gingerbread (2023), Gingerbread analysis of 2022 Labour Force Survey data in ‘Single Parents in 2023’ report. www.gingerbread.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Single-Parents-in-2023-Single-Parents-Day-report.pdf 
  3. Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), released 21 March 2024. Households below average income: for financial years ending 1995 to 2023, Table 4.5. www.gov.uk/government/statistics/households-below-average-income-for-financial-years-ending-1995-to-2023 
  4. Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, published 15th February 2024. Fuel poverty detailed tables 2024 (2023 data), Table 21. www.gov.uk/government/statistics/fuel-poverty-detailed-tables-2024-2023-data 
  5. Department for Work and Pensions, published 21st March 2024. Family Resources Survey 2022 to 2023. Savings and investments data tables, Table 7.10a. www.gov.uk/government/statistics/family-resources-survey-financial-year-2022-to-2023 
  6. Department for Work and Pensions, published 21st March 2024. Family Resources Survey 2022 to 2023. Household food security data tables, Table 9.14. www.gov.uk/government/statistics/family-resources-survey-financial-year-2022-to-2023