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Children First - tackling poverty in one-parent families.
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January 2007 One Parent Families submission to the Government's 2007 Comprehensive Spending Review in which we argue that the first priority must be to tackle child poverty.
Download the full report below
Introduction
One Parent Families have been campaigning for an end to the poverty and stigma faced by lone parents and their children since 1918. Great strides have been made in the last 10 years, but the situation for many of the 1.9 million families in Britain headed by a lone parent remains stark. 48 per cent of children in one parent families live in poverty, and - One in ten lone parent families cannot afford to eat fruit or vegetables most days;
- A fifth of lone parent families cannot afford new clothes when needed;
- Two fifths of lone parent families do not have money for trips, outings or gifts to take to parties; and
- Nearly half of lone parents families not in work report going without at least one item of food because they cannot afford it.[1]
This spending review offers the Government an historic opportunity not only to cement the progress made but also to show that this poverty and disadvantage can be tackled when Government takes the decision to put children first. Now is the last opportunity to make real investment in order to meet the target of halving child poverty by 2010. Achieving income security for children must therefore be the first priority for this spending review.
We asked our lone parent members to tell us their top priorities for change, and the structure of this submission follows these. They told us that they wanted:
- An end to poverty in one-parent families
- To ensure that lone parents can make real choices about balancing work and family life and that all families can improve their chances of obtaining better paid and more secure employment
- To ensure a high quality childcare place for every child
- To ensure that families have access to quality support and advice and appropriate services that meet their needs
- A guarantee of child maintenance for all eligible lone parents.
Achieving these goals would mean putting children first. Achieving income and employment security and secure access to childcare, advice services and maintenance payments are vital to achieving the best start for all children, and ensuring that family structure and the poverty that can be associated no longer play a role in determining the life chances of children in Britain.
[1] Lyon, N. Barnes, M. and Sweiry, D. (2006) Families with children in Britain: Findings from the 2004 Families and Children Study (FACS), DWP Research Report No. 340, Leeds: Corporate Document Services.
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