Single parents and rising debts: a growing crisis
Our data reveals a troubling picture for single parents in debt. They’ve long been disproportionately affected by debt, but our data shows it’s getting worse. There’s been a rise in single parents coming to us for help and in their overall debt levels, e.g. how much they owe.
Single parents make up 16% of UK households but account for 25% of those coming to us for debt advice. In 2024, we helped 9% more single parents with a debt issue than in 2019. Their debts have reached record highs since before 2019, averaging approximately £8,290 in 2024.
It’s not just our data that shows that single parents are struggling. According to the FCA, more than half (55%) of single adults with financially dependent children are ‘not coping financially, or finding it difficult to cope’. That is more than two and half times the proportion of couples with no children (20%).
Single parents are overwhelmingly more likely to be women and 89% of the single parents seeking our help with debt in 2024 were women.
To read more about this concerning trend, please follow the link below:
https://wearecitizensadvice.org.uk/single-parents-and-rising-debts-a-growing-crisis-629f6e49fc61
