OPFS response to 2024 General Election results

The key priority areas identified by OPFS in our five-point manifesto are:

1. challenge discrimination towards single parents by including single parenthood as a protected characteristic in the Equality Act and introducing single parent proofing of policies in recognition of the unique role of single parents as sole carers and breadwinners.
2. invest in a social security system that prevents child poverty by reforming Universal credit, scrapping policies such as the two-child limit and the benefits cap and increasing child benefit by £20 a week for all children.
3. make childcare work for single parents by extending Universal Credit to cover 100% of childcare costs, cover upfront childcare costs through a deposit scheme and expanding childcare to support parents undertaking training and education.
4. support single parents to enter and progress into sustainable fair paid work by transforming jobcentre plus, scrapping job seeking conditions for parents,  introducing legislation to ensure single parents are paid at least the real living wage, requiring employers to consider flexible working at the point of recruitment and investing in support for those combining unpaid care and paid work.
5. undertake a full review and reform the Child Maintenance System to ensure children receive what they are entitled to by scrapping charges for paying and receiving parents, implementing enforcement powers, exploring a minimum payment to children and improving the service for survivors of domestic and financial abuse.

OPFS Chief Executive, Satwat Rehman said:

“We congratulate the Labour party on being elected to form the new UK government and look forward to working with them to deliver change for single parent families in Scotland. However, without immediate action on the critical priorities outlined in our five-point manifesto to tackle child poverty, which includes scrapping the two-child policy, the consequences for the lives of children in single parent families will be devastating. By addressing these urgent issues, the new UK government has the opportunity to build a society where single parents and their children are truly valued and treated with equality and respect. 

“As sole carers and breadwinners for their families, single parents are unable to pool resources with another adult. This results in a much higher likelihood of poverty compared to other households. This government has an opportunity to make a real difference by creating policies that acknowledge and are built around the unique needs of single parents. 9 in 10 single parents are women.  This year, One Parent Families Scotland celebrates its 80th anniversary. Despite significant improvements since the 1940s, gender inequality remains a major cause of discrimination against many single mothers. 

 “Policies such as the two-child limit, the young parent penalty and the benefit cap penalise children in single parent families. This is why, along more than 200 other organisations across the UK, we are calling for an Essentials Guarantee in Universal Credit, a legal minimum level of Universal Credit to prevent families going without the basics, such as food and energy.  

“High quality, affordable and flexible childcare must also be at the heart of the government’s early years policies in order to support single parents into work and training and enable employers to benefit from their skills. 

“Despite the fact that the majority (nearly 70%) of single parents in the UK are in employment, they are disproportionately represented in lower paid occupations which are often part time, less secure and involve short term and zero hours contracts. Stricter Universal Credit work requirements introduced by the previous government requiring parents to seek work or increase their hours to access support with childcare costs, have been totally ineffective, causing stress, anxiety and depression, pushing more families into poverty. These must be scrapped!

“We are encouraged by Labour’s promise to review Universal Credit, to ban exploitative zero hours contracts and introduce a genuine living wage. However, single parents must also be offered tailored, holistic support to encourage them into work and training opportunities, and investment must also be made into supporting them to combine both paid work and unpaid care. 

“Finally, urgent steps need to be taken to reform the Child Maintenance service to ensure children receive the support they are entitled to. The number of separated families with no child maintenance agreement in place has grown to over a million. We are calling for a root and branch reform of the Child maintenance service, which includes scrapping charges both for parents receiving and paying child maintenance and improving the service for survivors of domestic and financial abuse.”