The advice needs of lone parents.

April 2004

A survey of 200 lone parents sheds light on the type, severity, persistence and clustering of civil justice problems they encounter, what advice sources they do and don't access, and their assessment of the quality of advice they have received.

Authors: Richard Moorhead, Mark Sefton and Gillian Douglas, Cardiff Law School, Cardiff University
Foreword: Kate Green, One Parent Families
Published by: One Parent Families April 2004

£12.95

Summary

Introduction

Lone parents are likely to experience a number of ongoing problems due to their circumstances. This research develops in detail previous findings that lone parents have high levels of advice need which are unmet by current levels of provision

Main Findings

Lone parents have high and diverse advice needs
Lone parents have greater advice needs than other family types. A survey carried out by the Legal Services Research Centre (LSRC)1 showed that two-thirds of lone parents had experienced a civil justice problem in the last three-and-a-half years. The three most common problem areas for lone parents in our survey were benefits, contact and debt - 69 per cent had to deal with benefits issues, 53 per cent with contact and 48 per cent with debt.
Problems are numerous and often long-standing
As shown in previous research, problems appear in clusters and 64 per cent of lone parents experienced more than one problem at a time. Although legal aid advice provision is targeted at the breakdown of relationships, this research shows that lone parents' advice needs extend beyond that initial crisis period. About one-half of all problem types lasted over a year. This was particularly the case for non-legal problems such as loneliness, depression and other health-related problems. These lasted over a year for more than two-thirds of respondents.
Similarly, for 61 per cent of respondents dealing with contact issues, and 51 per cent dealing with Child Support Agency (CSA) issues, the problems went on for over a year.
The role of solicitors - should they be gatekeepers to advice?
Solicitors represent the backbone of the legal aid scheme. The Legal Services Commission's Family Advice and Information Networks (FAINs) give solicitors the prime role in helping clients through relationship breakdown.
Our research questions this role. Building provision in this way is less helpful to lone parents who have not been married to their partner. While nearly all lone parents who have gone through divorce will have been in touch with a solicitor, 45 per cent of lone parents in our survey (often unmarried or separated lone parents) did not approach a solicitor at any stage even when dealing with 'classic' family law problems such as contact or domestic violence.
Even those that did approach solicitors often did not regard them as the most substantial source of advice. This raises some questions about whether solicitors are always the most appropriate entry point as is currently the case in the FAINs pilots.
Legal aid - a stronger social welfare focus
Our research has found that lone parents are experiencing similar levels of traditional family law and social welfare problems. However, legal aid funding is more focused on family law issues than welfare problems. Lone parents experience numerous and long-standing welfare problems and struggle to deal with these issues.
Lone parents use a wide range of services
Over one-half of the lone parents in our survey approached three or more sources for advice. For some problems there seemed to be clear routes, for example, solicitors were often approached with problems such as divorce, maintenance and the family home. Similarly, Citizens Advice Bureaux were the main contact point for issues around debt and welfare benefits. However, for some problems such as contact, lone parents did not seem to know where to get advice, and for others (benefits and CSA problems) there is evidence that lone parents are dependent on poor advice.
Lone parents who do not seek advice
Many lone parents did not seek help with their problems and this was influenced by the type of problem they had. They were most likely to seek advice on divorce, maintenance and the family home and least likely to seek help on debt problems. Over one-half of those with significant debt problems had not sought any advice.
The quality of advice varies
The perceived quality of advice was variable. Solicitors were generally seen as being very accessible, quick to respond and good at explaining the process. However, they did not seem particularly able to improve the situation of lone parents. In comparison, Citizens Advice Bureaux were seen as improving the situation of lone parents but were difficult to access due to their limited opening hours. Both the Benefits Agency and the CSA received very low satisfaction ratings as they were perceived as not being accessible, taking too long to respond and not improving lone parents' situation. (The Benefits Agency and Employment Service have now come together to form Jobcentre Plus.)
Accessing advice can be difficult
Lone parents often struggled to find the type of advice they wanted - 41 per cent wanted face-to-face advice and 32 per cent wanted telephone advice but could not find it, while 12 per cent could not find any advice for their problems. Having identified advice sources, lone parents often had difficulty accessing them, for example, 61 per cent struggled to get through on the phone.
Picking up the phone is relatively popular
Lone parents in the survey liked the speed, accessibility and anonymity of telephone advice. Furthermore, some felt able to talk more informally about their problem on the phone. However, there was a feeling that they needed face-to-face advice for more complex problems. While over one-half of the respondents had access to the internet, few thought it useful for getting advice.

Recommendations

It is vital that lone parents get good quality advice at the time they need it. Therefore, One Parent Families calls for an increase in the provision and quality of advice, and greater access to it. This requires a more holistic approach to advice provision, starting with better signposting between the different agencies. It also requires more funding, particularly legal aid funding, and a better mix of funding for advice provision across the different agencies. We are also concerned about the focus on solicitors in the planning of advice provision.

Methodology

This research consisted of two stages. The first stage was designed to explore the issues and language used around advice needs. It included a number of separate focus groups with lone parents, advisers and solicitors.

The second stage aimed to quantify this information, and in summer 2003 we carried out a survey of 200 lone parents who had called our Lone Parent Helpline.

Endnotes

1 Pleasence P, Buck A, Balmer N J et al (2004) Causes of Action: Civil Law and Social Justice (LSRC Research Paper No. 11).

Authors: Richard Moorhead, Mark Sefton and Gillian Douglas, Cardiff Law School, Cardiff University
Foreword by: Kate Green, One Parent Families
Published by: One Parent Families (April 2004)
Price: £12.95
ISBN: 1 85199 226 X

Generously funded by The Nuffield Foundation
The Nuffield Foundation is a charitable trust established by Lord Nuffield. Its widest charitable object is 'the advancement of social wellbeing'. The Foundation has a special programme of grant-making in Child Protection and Family Justice and has supported this project to stimulate public discussion and policy development. The views expressed are however those of the authors and not necessarily those of the Foundation.


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