IFS: Pre-pandemic relative poverty rate for children of lone parents almost double that for children living with two parentsFor immediate release

In the year prior to the pandemic, nearly half (49%) of children in lone-parent families were in relative poverty – defined as having an income of less than 60% of median income adjusted for household size. This is almost double the rate among children living in two-parent families (25%). These are some of the early findings of research from IFS’s annual report into living standards, poverty and inequality, funded by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, to be published in full on 14 July 2022.

Jonathan Cribb, Associate Director at IFS and an author of the report, said:

‘Rises in employment pushed up incomes of lone-parent families in the years running up to the pandemic, but cuts to state benefits and tax credits reduced their incomes. The combined effect was that there was no progress in reducing absolute poverty in lone-parent families between 2010 and 2019, and their incomes fell further behind those on average incomes.’

Read the briefing in full here. 

This analysis was originally shared with The Guardian as part of a package of articles on lone parents, in the launch of a new series of reporting on the cost of living crisis. 

ENDS

Notes to Editor

'Pre-pandemic relative poverty rate for children of lone parents almost double that for children living with two parents' is an IFS briefing by Jonathan Cribb, Thomas Wernham and Xiaowei Xu. 

It can be read in full here on the IFS website.