Anya, a member of the Campaigns Advisory Group 2026 cohort, recently wrote a blog post about her first meeting with the group. 

“This day was one of the best days of my life. I sat among many women and a couple of men discussing how to make life better for single parents, plus our children, and it was done in an official capacity, as opposed to an informal one, bemoaning our plights and wondering what to do about it next.

Hooray!

I have been working with the brilliant single parent charity, Gingerbread, as you may have read, as part of their #FixtheCMS campaign – re the proposed reform of the Child Maintenance Service – taking part in roundtable discussions with the House of Lords and Members of Parliament – and they must have liked my outspokenness, because when I applied to join their Campaigns Advisory Group this year, I was successful.

Last year, my application didn’t make the cut, so it was extra thrilling now, to be able to join the 2026 cohort of other single parents, similarly volunteering their time, ideas and passion to try to influence actual policy with the actual government to actually make a difference for struggling single parents!

The brains in the room were phenomenal, the passion was immense and the good humour of everyone concerned, despite all our grievances, inspired me in a way I have never before been inspired.

Gingerbread genuinely want to know what we need help with and welcomes our suggested solutions, so please bring them to me, and I will take them forward. We’re meeting once a month for exactly this purpose; in the meantime, we can all continue to support their current campaigns and their organisation in general.

I remember my mum talking about Gingerbread when she was a single parent for a few years and it was heartening to hear that their staff mainly comprises single parents or those who have been brought up in single parent families. They are people who practise what they preach and walk the walk, not just talk the talk and have been so long-established and well-respected that they have the ear of the government – to the extent you can often spot MPs wearing one of their logo badges!

Their CEO, Abigail Wood, gave us a warm and friendly welcome, saying how valued our voices and input are because single parents ‘Get shit done!’ and the day was then run by Charlie Fox and Luned Hunter who are in charge of their policies and campaigns.

It was great to hear how they’re championing and driving change by playing voice-notes and sharing stories of members regarding the hostile, confusing and punishing systems we all have to contend with. This is really helping to raise the awareness of those with the power to make a difference, and there’s no impact like hearing the grassroots struggles from those living them. It’s innovative and real, and the sanctions on financial support imposed for working, plus the need for flexible working, need to be addressed, amongst all the other issues.

In addition, Gingerbread has been working with Women’s Aid and Surviving Economic Abuse (SEA) and has recently released a joint report regarding Domestic Abuse and Single Parenting, too. I have felt for some time that this is a liaison which needed to happen, so I am glad to see it, because, although some lone parents are in their situations through choice or bereavement, way too many are solo parenting in an attempt to protect themselves and their children from the various forms of abuse which abound, and this is something I can bring my lived experience to.

I hope you will join me in joining the Gingerbread community and bring your lived experiences too. Please sign up for email updates and to support their current campaigns – not just #FixtheCMS, but #SupportnotPunish too, for example (and, of course, to make one off or regular donations if you’d like to).