Food insecurity among single parent families - FEBRUARY 2024

A lower According to the latest Family Resources Survey UK (2021- income places them and their children in greater risk 22), 44% of children in single parent families are living in of poverty and food insecurity, as food budgets are relative poverty compared to 25% in dual parent families. [...] The income inequality experienced by single parents is Single parents’ also have less ability to save and have linked to the rising cost of childcare compared to wages, been found to have 20 times less savings than all other which has potentially kept many single parents out of the household types (2018-2020) (ONS, 2022). [...] Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) attributes food insecurity shows that more support is needed and this disproportionate impact of the benefit cap on single that these schemes require strengthening to support parents to the barriers they face returning to work and families who are experiencing food insecurity, including difficulty in meeting the earnings threshold. [...] More needs to be done to address the barriers to employment and the rising costs of food and household essentials that disproportionately impact single parent families. [...] The Nuffield Foundation is the founder and co-funder of the Nuffield Council on Bioethics, the Ada Lovelace Institute and the Nuffield Family Justice Observatory.