The number of single parents approaching StepChange Debt Charity for help has doubled over the past four years making them the fastest growing group among its clients.
The number of single parents approaching StepChange Debt Charity for help has doubled over the past four years making them the fastest growing group among its clients.
The charity said that although just one in 14 UK households is headed by single parents, they now represent one in five of its clients.
Over 60,000 single parents approached the charity for debt advice last year. The charity’s figures show that single parents are more likely to be on lower incomes, in part time work and live in rented accommodation.
Previous research by the charity has highlighted how low incomes and insecure work are increasingly leaving people vulnerable to debt and such problems appear particularly acute for single parents.
In total, single parents contacting the charity had £600m of debt in 2015, an average of over £10,000 each.
Single parents are also significantly more likely to be struggling with high cost credit taken out with catalogues and doorstep lenders.
Compared to the average StepChange Debt Charity client, they are 33% more likely to have catalogue debt and 42% more likely to have home credit.
Mike O’Connor, chief executive of StepChange Debt Charity, said: “With the pressures of bringing in enough money and raising children alone, single parents can face a daily battle to get by.
“If they are unable to build up rainy day savings, it leaves them vulnerable to even small income shocks or unexpected bills and this can have severe consequences.
“We need better safety nets for when people hit problems so they don’t have to resort to credit to cope and put themselves at risk of falling into problem debt.
“The government’s announcement of support for low income groups to save is a welcome move, but the job remains far from done.”
