` edinburgh one parent families scotland lone parents in scotland

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Edinburgh

One Parent Families Scotland

Lone Parents in Scotland

Child Poverty – Setting the scene

1 in 5 children in Scotland live in poverty. With Scotland’s undoubted wealth OPFS believes this is a scandal.

• 1 in 3 children live in poverty in areas of deprivation• 1 in 2 children in a one parent family live in poverty • Poverty is the most serious • Poverty is the most serious problems facing Scotlands children

today. Its’ effects last a lifetime, negatively impacting on health, education,

social and physical development and seriously harming future life chances and opportunities.

• No reason why our child poverty rates should be so much higher than in many other European countries.

• In Denmark and Norway less than 10% of children live in poverty Child poverty is not inevitable

Profile of Lone Parents in Scotland

LP Population Over 163,000 LP’s with 295,000 children (1 in 4 families) Projected to increase to 238,000 next 20 yrs Ave age 34 yrs, 92% are women 46% children in one parent families poor

The challenge of sustaining employment 57.2% in paid work ( 71% of LP’s with 11-14 yr olds) 54%of LP’s with 5/6yr old’s work (75% work part-time) 22% who start a job end up unemployed within 12 mths 68% enter three occup groups which are lowest paid

Job insecurity, see-sawing between poorly paid work & benefits

Challenges Facing Lone Parents in Scotland

Poverty & low income Low levels of skills, qualifications and confidence Isolation & lack of social support Concentration in deprived areas Poor health (parent & child) Low Benefit Levels & impact of Welfare Reform Reconciling the demands of work and family life Finding good quality, affordable childcare; Barriers to access - travel and transport Attitudes towards lone parents

Unique challenge - sole carer & sole breadwinner

Impact of Welfare Reform & Public Sector Cuts

Conditionality Income Support for LP’s with youngest child 5 yrs ends Conditionality & Sanctions but support with transition to work not in place. LP’s 3yrs & 4yr olds – intro mandatory work-related activity ; work-focused interviews increased & good cause list abolished.

Benefits &Tax Credits Lone Mothers will be hardest hit by benefit changes IFS: lose on ave.8.5% of income after tax by 2015 Switch to CPI from RPI, withdrawal,restriction,reduced benefits.

Public Service cuts – LP’s 18% drop in living standards

Effects of spending cuts by family type: as % of net income, all services ( Reed & Horton, 2010)

Skills & Lone Parents

Lack of formal education and consequently of job skills limits access to occupations that provide enough income for an acceptable standard of living.

92% are women so many end up in traditionally female occupations that are low paying, perpetuating the cycle of poverty

Welfare to Work policies are “Work – First” lone parents access to higher level training & education blocked

Career Development Needs of Lone Parents/1

LP’s have sole responsibility for support of their families; aspire to achieve a good job and economic independence.

Outreach, engagement, participation Emotional /family support (self help groups, lone parent

peer support, support systems) Basic skills (especially literacy skills) Affordable, high quality, flexible, accessible childcare

Self-confidence building Skills assessment Job-seeking skills The challenges of combining work and family roles Recognition of the role of gender in occupational choice

Career Development Needs of Lone Parents/2

Policy Concerns In addition to effective programmes, we need

advocates for public policy designed to assist lone parents.

• Work First Approach replaced Human Capital• Employment discrimination, • Recognition of non-traditional roles, • Government and employer support of child care, • Pay equity,

• Work environment alternatives.

Type of welfare state ?

Poverty faced by LP’s across diff countries remarkably different . Do not depend on prevalence of LP’s but on type welfare state.

• UK Adult Worker Model All able adults should be in employment independent of the type of family. (but 2nd highest Child Poverty level)

• Parent-Worker model in Scandinavian countries Families are diverse and adults should be supported as workers and parents (highest opfs- lowest child poverty levels)

The added challenges that lone parents face should be recognised through good quality childcare, family friendly employment opportunities and reasonable parental leave.

Pathways To Participation

Progression ModelKey Success Criteria

* Recognition not dependency* Barriers, also assets* Holistic ,trusted services* Tailored for Lone Parents* Focus on Family Goals * Peer Mentoring Approach * Capacity to Motivate * Cross Sector Partnerships

Marion Davis

One Parent Families Scotland

100 Wellington Street, Glasgow, G2 6DH Tel: 0141 847 0444 marion.davis@opfs       

Lone Parent Helpline: 0808 801 0323

www.opfs.org.uk

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