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Happy Mother's Day

Research

There are 1.9m single parent families in the UK. Before the pandemic, two thirds of single parent households (63%) spent more than their income. Single parents reported the highest levels of poverty and were in a substantially worse position than couple families​.

The number of single parents on Universal Credit has increased by 500,000 since the start of the pandemic (March 2020)

 

Read the press release on Gingerbread's website or view the key stats below.

Key findings

Comparator stats: 

 

  • 95% of single parents have felt worried about money in the last 12 months, and this compares with 57% of UK adults 

  • Two thirds (64%) of single parents have felt anxious because of money worries, compared with 2 in 5 (39%) UK adults 

  • Single parents are twice as likely to have felt depressed because of money worries than UK adults OR Half of single parents have felt depressed because of money worries, compared with a quarter of UK adults (48% and 25% respectively) 

  • More than a third of single parents (36%) have had to go without heating, compared with 1 in 5 (21%) UK adults 

  • Just under a third of single parents (29%) have had to cut back or go without food and meals for themselves, compared with 15% of UK adults 

 

General picture: 

 

  • 95% of single parents are worried about the cost of living rise in April (57%are ‘very worried’) 

  • Half of single parents (52%) say their financial situation is worse now than it was 12 months ago 

  • 2 in 5 (42%) single parents expect their financial situation to get worse over the next 12 months 

  • 28% of single parents are having to spend more than they have coming in each month 

  • Half of single parents (48%) are not confident they will be able to afford the rise in cost of living due in April 

  • Three quarters (76%) of single parents said they might struggle to afford heating or electricity 

  • More than a third of single parents (36%) said they might struggle to afford food and meals for their children as a result of the cost of living rise due in April 

  • 93% of single parents feel that families like theirs are being left behind by the Government 

  • Nearly 4 in 5 single parents (78%) don’t feel confident the Government understands their particular needs as a single parent family 

  • 70% of single parents feel the support offered by Government to single parent families to meet the rise in the cost of living is poor 

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