Single-parent households are among the most exposed to the cost of living crisis, with the savings bank 20 times smaller than the UK average, the analysis shows.
A Labor analysis using data from the National Statistics Office on wealth in the UK shows that single parents with dependent children had £ 400 savings between April 2018 and March 2020, compared to all households. had £ 8,000.
The cost of living has put pressure on households in the UK, with 90% reporting an increase in their cost of living affected by rising fuel and food prices.
Single parents with dependent children have the lowest average net worth of all groups, followed by single parents with non-dependent children at £ 1,700.
In contrast, households where the couple is over retirement age and who do not have children have the highest savings – £ 59,600.
The analysis also reveals how the financial burden caused by the lack of savings affects women disproportionately, given that women make up 90% of single-parent families.
The findings came after cabinet ministers were told on Monday to find “non-fiscal” ways to tackle the cost of living crisis, and Dominic Raab was subsequently pressured when asked about the government’s failure to implement policies to tackle the crisis.
Labor has called for an emergency budget with policies that will include contingency tax, business rate rebates and a National Crime Agency investigation into taxpayers’ money lost through fraud.
Secretary-General Anneliese Dodds, secretary for women’s affairs and equality in the shadows, said: “As pay slips land on doormats across the country today, families are discovering how much more conservatives are pulling out of their pockets by raising national insurance.
“With a savings bank 20 times smaller than the average household in the UK, which is in a crisis of living costs, single parents will feel the pain more than most.
“Conservatives think it’s ‘stupid’ to do more to help families with growing bills. Labor is pushing for an urgent budget to take sensible, costly and practical measures to help households, including reducing energy bills by up to £ 600, paid through an unforeseen tax on oil and gas companies.
Victoria Benson, CEO of Gingerbread, a charity that supports families with single parents, said saving was a “distant dream” for many single parents.
She added: “I have heard heartbreaking stories of mothers who are left without food to feed their children and of people in poverty because, although they work as many hours as possible, they cannot cover their basic living expenses. .
“Families with single parents have very little financial flexibility, and while other families may be able to limit the luxuries of their budget, single parents must be left without basic things like food and heating.”
Joelie Brierley, founder of Pregnant Then Screwed, said: “We know that single parents were disproportionately affected by the pandemic, especially when schools were closed and they could not count on a support partner with all the extra unpaid work.
“Many were forced to leave their jobs or had to receive pay cuts through no fault of their own. Right from this crisis, they are now immersed in a new crisis, as bills rise dramatically without warning, but the majority are already living hand in hand.
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“We know that the extortionate costs of raising children are creating not only a crisis in the cost of living, but also in the cost of work, especially for single parents.
“Our recent survey of 27,000 parents found that three-quarters – 73% – of single parents say their childcare costs the same or more than their rent or mortgage, leading to more than half – 53% – of single parents who say they have to skip meals or give up heating and fuel to pay for childcare.
“At this point, we have to ask ourselves what the government really means when it comes to investing in hard-working families, because single parents who embody this are obviously being ignored by this government.”
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