Message from Chris Pond, Chief Executive

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It is the focus on children that is paramount - message from Chris Pond, Chief Executive

Annual Review 2006/07

2006/07 has been another busy year for One Parent Families. Just as we are about to mark our 90th anniversary, we have joined forces with Gingerbread, bringing the country's two leading lone parent charities together as one.

One Parent Families itself gave practical help to almost 100,000 lone parents in the last year - 50,000 of those through the Lone Parent Helpline (generously supported once again by The Royal Bank of Scotland Group) and the online Lone Parent Helpdesk (supported by ASDA).

We have worked in partnership with three other charities as part of the Barclaycard Horizons programme, which helps lone parents deal with financial hardship and build their skills for the future. We have continued to help hundreds of lone parents into well-paid employment through programmes such as the award-winning Marks & Start in partnership with Marks & Spencer and others, including the London Borough of Camden. Now that we are one with Gingerbread we will be able to help even more lone parents, including the members of the new charity.

We have also been working hard to make change happen for lone parents and their children. Our work on the reform of the failing Child Support Agency has helped to shape the plans for a new agency which will replace it, the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission (C-MEC). And we have been actively engaged in the welfare-to work debate, opposing plans to require lone parents whose youngest child is 12 - and in due course those whose youngest is only 7 - actively to seek work. We're all in favour of helping and supporting those lone parents who want to work, but against cajoling those who are not yet ready. Whether or not to work must remain the judgement of the parent, the only person who knows what is best for their children.

It is the focus on children that is paramount. In the past year we have launched our new Children First campaign to focus attention on the needs of children in lone parent families. And as an active charity member of the End Child Poverty campaign, a coalition of 88 children's and family organisations, we want to hold the Government to its commitment to halve child poverty by 2010 and eliminate it by 2020. They can only do this by tackling the disadvantage that lone parents face.

My thanks to the incredibly dedicated staff, who are determined to provide the highest quality of service to lone parents despite limited resources, and to our Trustees, Ambassadors and other supporters. With their help and your support, we will achieve a fairer deal and a louder voice for the 3.1 million children being brought up by a parent on their own.

I hope you will consider making a gift to the merged charity, using the form at the back of this Annual Review.

Chris Pond, Chief Executive


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