This week marks Gingerbread’s Week of Action, highlighting our #SupportNotPunish campaign which calls for a fairer Universal Credit (UC) system that supports single parents and their children.  

Throughout the #SupportNotPunish campaign, we’ve been calling on the government to reform the social security system, so it provides a stronger safety net for families when they need it most.  

Single-parent families are almost twice as likely to live in poverty compared to couple-parent families. At a time when so many households are struggling with the cost of living, social security should provide a reliable safety net. 

That’s why Gingerbread is campaigning for a fairer Universal Credit system so that it better supports families when they need it most. 

To strengthen this call, we partnered with Home-Start Lambeth to carry out research exploring families’ experiences of UC. The findings clearly demonstrate that the current process of claiming UC, along with its conditions and sanctions, often creates a negative environment and pushes single parents further into financial struggle.  

Like many charities supporting families on the frontline, Home-Start Lambeth sees first-hand the challenges families face when navigating Universal Credit. The organisation also witnesses the growing pressure this places on charities working to fill the gaps left by an inadequate social security system. 

Susie Baker, Chief Executive of Home-Start Lambeth, reflects on what these challenges mean for the families they support and the increasing strain on frontline organisations:

“Our charity exists to provide emotional and practical support to Lambeth families so they can overcome challenges and provide their babies and young children with positive early years experiences. 79% of the families we support are on Universal Credit. We know that families cannot focus when they are overwhelmed by the acute stress of spiralling debts, housing insecurity, and the daily struggle to afford food.

Our volunteers and staff work tirelessly to alleviate some of these impacts of poverty: access to emergency food and baby banks, support to navigate housing issues, and “kitchen table support” with family budgeting. We see every day that the deprivation caused by low levels of social security acts as a blocker to the emotional and practical space required for families to thrive. 

Our situation is not unique. This crisis places an unprecedented operational strain across the entire voluntary sector. Across the board, independent charities providing specialist benefits advice and financial legal support are being hit by a lack of funding, leaving families with fewer places to turn for professional advocacy. In Lambeth, we saw this recently with the closure of the Centre70 advice centre. This loss leaves families stranded, forcing grassroots charities like ours to step into the gap without the resources to do so. We find ourselves in the precarious position of needing (and wanting!) to do more to alleviate systemic poverty, precisely when funding is becoming increasingly challenging to secure. 

We work with babies and toddlers in our community. We want them to have healthy and suitable homes, nutritious diets and opportunities to play, learn and grow. Universal Credit places a huge strain on parents’ ability to provide this, especially single parents.” 

The experiences shared by Home-Start Lambeth reinforce the findings from our #SupportNotPunish report and highlight the urgent need for a social security system that works for families. Universal Credit should provide security for families during difficult times, not add to the challenges single parents are already facing. 

Abigail Wood, Gingerbread CEO adds: 

“The Universal Credit system often leaves single parents worrying about whether they’ll be able to afford the essentials. Raising children on a single income already places many single parents under significant financial pressure, yet the system can deepen financial insecurity and add to the emotional strain of balancing work and caring responsibilities. Our social security system should provide security for families, but too often it fails those who need it most.” 

Support our Week of Action and help us call for a fairer Universal Credit system for all.