The Welfare System

Parenting Alone Policy Exchange Work and welfare in single parent households Policy Exchange's latest report looks at employment rates in lone parent households. With further reductions to the welfare budget coming, and lower living standards and higher development issues for children in lone parent households, it is important to help this group into work. LONE PARENT STATISTICS The average lone parent household claims more than twice as much in benefits as the average two parent household More than 1 in 3 lone parent households are not in work (that's 650,000 £91 £201 people) a week a week As a group, single parents tend to have fewer children With the exception of economically inactive single parents with children under 5 41% of couple parents had only one child 57% of lone parents had only one child 2x more likely than those in work to have a second child The level of unemployment among lone parents can be partly attributed to the age they had their first child Education levels are also indicative 51% 40% DEGREE GCSE 29% 21% 84% in work 54% in work 26% in work 16-19 20-23 24-29 early 30s RECOMMENDATIONS This report recommends that the government offers additional support to lone parents when their youngest child is aged 3 and 4, for example specialised jobcentre advisors and training. CV To find out more, read the full report at bit.ly/pxloneparents Policy Exchange www.policyexchange.org.uk @Policy_Exchange