Single parent families are almost twice as likely to live in poverty as couple parents. With so many people struggling to make ends meet, we need social security to be an effective safety net for everyone at times of need 

Our Government needs to reform the system so that it supports not punishes those who need it, especially those who need it most. 

Our new report highlights the impact of a punitive Universal Credit regime on single parent families in the UK .

Share our report with your MP, asking them to speak up and support by using parliamentary mechanisms like tabling questions, speaking in debates and writing a letter to the Minister. 

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Stay informed and be a part of change! Sign up to Gingerbread’s campaign emails to stay updated and get involved in making a difference. 

Every day, single parents call our advice line to tell us about the difficulties they are having with the CMS. They tell us that action isn’t always being taken to enforce payments and that by avoiding payments, perpetrators of abuse are able to continue to exert control over their ex-partners.  The failings of the system also mean people avoid using it and often end up with no arrangement at all.

These problems with the CMS are directly linked to child poverty. We know that single parent families are almost twice as likely to be in poverty as couple families. Our new research shows that those single parent families who don’t receive the right child maintenance, face greater financial challenges and the majority (52%) are struggling to pay essential bills.

Where it’s received, child maintenance cuts the child poverty rate by 25%. It means that day-to-day expenses like school uniforms and food can be met, and kids have a decent quality of life.

That’s why we’re calling for the Government to #FixTheCMS. Because as it stands, it doesn’t work. The Government has promised to create a plan to tackle child poverty, but they can’t do that without fixing the CMS. Join us in our campaign – together, we can make sure that the Government takes action to reform the CMS.

Gingerbread, along with other charities, recently supported two new Bills on the CMS to become law. These Bills aim to improve the situation for survivors of domestic abuse and to strengthen the enforcement powers of the CMS.  

We’ve given written and oral evidence to the Work and Pensions Committee, and their report echoed our call to scrap the fees for Collect and Pay, notably for survivors of domestic abuse.  

Gingerbread also jointly provides the secretariat for the All-Party Parliamentary Group on the CMS. An All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) is a group of MPs from all parties who meet together on a particular issue. Gingerbread helps to organise these meetings, which are online and open to the public. Please email campaign@gingerbread.org.uk to find out the topic of the next meeting and how to attend. 

We are extremely concerned about the impact of stricter conditionality requirements on Universal Credit claimants with lead care. The changes to conditionality, which were introduced in the 2023 Spring Budget, require parents of 3 to 12-year-olds to spend more time in work or applying for jobs to be eligible for Universal Credit. 

Last year, we published an open letter to the Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, highlighting the ineffective nature of stricter conditions, alongside the lack of suitable childcare or jobs that are required to make these changes workable for single parents.  

The letter was signed by a number of charities and organisations who share our concerns, including Save the Children, Pregnant then Screwed and the TUC. You can find further information on these changes and a full write up of the letter here.