UK Wedding News
17/01/2014
Of these households, some 650,000 – almost one in four – are unemployed. Furthermore, the average single parent household was found to claim twice as much in benefit support as the average two-parent household.
The statistics mean that the UK now has the fourth highest proportion of lone parent households within the EU. Only Estonia, Latvia and Ireland are ahead.
Following the publication of the results, Policy Exchange is urging policymakers to help young, single parent find work as part of plans to make further welfare savings.
Among the findings, the report said the level of unemployed single parents can partly be attributed to when they had children. More than half (52%) of lone mothers who had their first child as a teenager (16-19) are not in work or looking for work and this compares to 40% of women who had their first child when aged 20-23; 29% of those who had their first child aged 24-29 and 19% who had their first child in their early 30s.
Skills levels were another factor, with the large of number of single parents who were younger when they had their children, now have low levels of qualifications.
It said that while 84% of lone parents who have left education and have degrees are in work, only 54% who left education without any qualifications above GCSE level are in work. 26% of those who left with no qualifications are in work.
Other results found that single parents tend to have fewer children than married couples. For example, in 2012, 57% of lone parents only had one child compared to 41% of couples. For single parents with children under the age of five and who are not in work, they are twice as likely to have a second child compared to those in work.
Single parents with children under 5 who are not in work are twice as likely to have a second child compared to those in work. The most common age single parents have their first child is 20, while for couples, it is 30. Elsewhere, the think tank did say that teenage pregnancies had fallen between 1998 and 2001, but the UK still maintained one of the highest rates in the developed world.
Recently, the Government announced that lone parents claiming Income Support would be expected to engage with training in return for the available childcare allowances when their youngest child is aged three or four.
Matthew Tinsley, author of the report, said: "Raising a child is a huge responsibility regardless of your living arrangements. All parents especially, young single mothers, need support. It is right that the government extended free childcare.
"However, it is also right to ask more from people to find a job. Simply relying on benefits when you are physically and mentally able to work is not fair.
"Policymakers must do more to help the two thirds of a million unemployed single parents find a job. Such action would significantly boost the UK economy and help find further savings in the welfare budget."
(JP/CD)
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1.8 Million Single-Parent Households In UK
A new report by think tank Policy Exchange has revealed that there are now 1.8 million single-parent households in the UK.Of these households, some 650,000 – almost one in four – are unemployed. Furthermore, the average single parent household was found to claim twice as much in benefit support as the average two-parent household.
The statistics mean that the UK now has the fourth highest proportion of lone parent households within the EU. Only Estonia, Latvia and Ireland are ahead.
Following the publication of the results, Policy Exchange is urging policymakers to help young, single parent find work as part of plans to make further welfare savings.
Among the findings, the report said the level of unemployed single parents can partly be attributed to when they had children. More than half (52%) of lone mothers who had their first child as a teenager (16-19) are not in work or looking for work and this compares to 40% of women who had their first child when aged 20-23; 29% of those who had their first child aged 24-29 and 19% who had their first child in their early 30s.
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Skills levels were another factor, with the large of number of single parents who were younger when they had their children, now have low levels of qualifications.
It said that while 84% of lone parents who have left education and have degrees are in work, only 54% who left education without any qualifications above GCSE level are in work. 26% of those who left with no qualifications are in work.
Other results found that single parents tend to have fewer children than married couples. For example, in 2012, 57% of lone parents only had one child compared to 41% of couples. For single parents with children under the age of five and who are not in work, they are twice as likely to have a second child compared to those in work.
Single parents with children under 5 who are not in work are twice as likely to have a second child compared to those in work. The most common age single parents have their first child is 20, while for couples, it is 30. Elsewhere, the think tank did say that teenage pregnancies had fallen between 1998 and 2001, but the UK still maintained one of the highest rates in the developed world.
Recently, the Government announced that lone parents claiming Income Support would be expected to engage with training in return for the available childcare allowances when their youngest child is aged three or four.
Matthew Tinsley, author of the report, said: "Raising a child is a huge responsibility regardless of your living arrangements. All parents especially, young single mothers, need support. It is right that the government extended free childcare.
"However, it is also right to ask more from people to find a job. Simply relying on benefits when you are physically and mentally able to work is not fair.
"Policymakers must do more to help the two thirds of a million unemployed single parents find a job. Such action would significantly boost the UK economy and help find further savings in the welfare budget."
(JP/CD)
Top stories
20/03/2020
LeToya Luckett-Walker Is Pregnant
Charlotte Crosby Finds New Romance
Lydia Bright Gets Candid About Giving Birth
Lana Del Ray Splits From Boyfriend
Angelica Ross Learns Of Boyfriend's Secret Life
Ashley Graham's Breastfeeding Struggle
Susanna Reid's Mother's Day Plans
Lin-Manuel Miranda Homeschooling Kids
Kristen Bell Speaks Of Pride For Daughters
Prince George & Princess Charlotte Now Homeschooled
