Coronavirus lockdown heaping pressure on Chesterfield single parents

More than 3,000 single parent families in Chesterfield are being put under more strain than ever as a result of the UK going into coronavirus lockdown.
There are more than 3,000 single-parent families in ChesterfieldThere are more than 3,000 single-parent families in Chesterfield
There are more than 3,000 single-parent families in Chesterfield

With schools closed, homes in lockdown and job insecurity rife, experts are warning these families will be hit hard by the outbreak.

There are around 1.8 million lone parents across the UK.

Across the East Midlands alone, there are 125,262 lone parent families with research revealing there are 3,032 in Chesterfield.

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The charity Gingerbread helps single mothers and fathers across England and Wales.

Victoria Benson, Gingerbread chief executive, said: “Our helplines for the local groups have been overwhelmed with single parents asking, what do they do, as well as practical questions about isolation and lots of financial issues, as well as lots of issues about maintenance and issues with the non-resident parent.”

And with schools across the country now closed indefinitely, Victoria added that she was very concerned that single parents will have to juggle multiple roles within households.

She continued: “We’re all expected to look after our children from home but most single parents can’t work from home. .

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“Even if you are paid to work from home, how can you work from home and do your job and look after your children at the same time?”

The Chancellor Rishi Sunak MP announced a raft of measures to support businesses and low income families, including an increase to the universal credit standard allowance and working tax credits.

He said: “Together these measures will benefit more than four million of our most vulnerable households.”

However, charities have warned that a lack of support could further push cash-strapped families into poverty and have called on the Government to do more to prevent this happening.

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Satwat Rehman, director of the charity One Parent Families Scotland, said: “We need to ensure that authorities are considering the needs of single parents in their planning and prioritisation of services and to ensure our benefits system anchors us all from the rising tide of poverty.”