Gingerbread is calling for a fairer Universal Credit (UC) system. Today sees the launch of our new campaign, Support Not Punish, calling for an end to sanctions and better support in Jobcentres.  

We’ve released a new report today into the impact of UC sanctions. It shows that the UK’s social security system is having a damaging impact on people in need of support. Single parents told us they have to ‘jump through hoops’ in a rigid system that ignores their family situation.

Single-parent jobseekers need supportive work coaches who can help them find work. But all too often, the hostile and inflexible UC system means that single parents aren’t getting the help they need.

Make your voice heard – write to your MP

We want to make sure all MPs are aware of this issue, so we’re calling on single parents to join our campaign. MPs can help us bring about change by using parliamentary mechanisms like tabling questions, speaking in debates and writing a letter to the Minister. Will you ask your MP to support our campaign for a social security system that supports, not punishes, those who need it?

There are two million single parents in the UK, making up almost a quarter of all families. They’re significantly more likely to experience financial hardship and almost twice as likely to be living in poverty as couple parents. 90% of single parents are women.  

Our report findings:

Single parents often experience sanctions (which means they have their benefits reduced, or even stopped) because they cannot juggle parenting responsibilities as couple parents can. We know that being unable to share childcare is a major barrier to single parents attending appointments. 

·       98% of sanctions were issued to claimants who failed to attend their Jobcentre meetings rather than failing to comply with work search requirements. 

·       66% of people sanctioned in the last six months had caring responsibilities. 

The majority of single parents are in work. But low paid jobs and part-time hours mean that many are entitled to social security support to top-up their income. As many as 1.9 million single parent households were relying on Universal Credit in February 2024.  Any loss of income for this group can be devastating. Benefits sanctions can push single parents into debt, or force them and their children to go without food or heating.  

Sarah Lambert, Head of Policy and Campaigns at Gingerbread said: 

“With only one household income, single-parent families are vulnerable to any changes in their financial situation. This is simply because of the shape of their family, with one adult shouldering the burdens of earning and caring for children. This is compounded by the impact of unnecessarily harsh sanctions. Our social security system is supposed to support the most vulnerable families. But all too often it unfairly penalises single parents. What’s more, the harsh sanctions regime puts children at risk of poverty and all the long-term disadvantage this brings.” 

Our report shows that sanctions are frequently overturned when single parents challenge them. This clearly demonstrates that the sanction had been unfairly applied in the first place. While it’s welcome that households didn’t lose income in the long term, the additional stress and time taken to challenge sanctions also has an impact on mental health and wellbeing. 

Max, a bereaved single parent of two children received a sanction for missing an appointment due to a family emergency and childcare issues:  

“I tried to appeal and review the sanction as I was feeling helpless. The process consisted of providing a lot of documents and it was very frustrating, and I was already frustrated at the time. It took so long to receive a response – almost 2 months and I tried to gather more of my documents and had to attend hearings, but I didn’t have the luxury of have childcare. Being a single parent made the appeal process harder. If I had my partner, I would have had support financially and emotionally to help with the appeal process.”  

The process of claiming Universal Credit (UC) and its conditionality and sanction regime creates a hostile and adversarial environment. Claimants fear the social security system that they should be able to rely on as their safety net. In addition, many single parents feel unsupported by work coaches whose job it is to help them to find work and stay in secure employment. This is particularly apparent for single parents who are disabled. Many report that work coaches don’t understand how their health interacts with single parenthood and impacts their needs. 

Sarah Lambert continues: 

“Gingerbread is standing with single parents. We’re calling for an overhaul of our social security system so it supports rather than punishes claimants. Sanctions should be abolished entirely or only used in very exceptional circumstances. Meanwhile, the government’s planned overhaul of Jobcentre Plus needs to include better support for single parents. Ideally we’d like to see dedicated single-parent work coaches. With the right help, single-parent families can, and do, thrive but they are particularly vulnerable to financial uncertainty and economic bumps in the road.

Our social security system must be a genuine safety net and it should never be feared by those who are forced to rely on it.”