Single parents being forced to 'eat gone-off meals and only buy discount food'

Struggling to afford essentials like school uniform, eating out of date meals and only ever buying the 'yellow-sticker' food - these are the heart-breaking stories of single parents trying to get by. Single mums and dads are almost 'twice as likely' to suffer from child poverty, with the 'familiar problem' of unpaid child maintenance leaving many thousands of pounds out of pocket.

By 2030, it's expected parents across the UK will be owed a total of £1billion in support from their former partners, according to Gingerbread, a national charity for single parent families. Such funds could have, if paid, made a "massive difference" to families living in poverty, says the charity's Birmingham-based policy manager.

Alexandra Jones spoke of parents owed between ten and thirty thousand pounds in child maintenance, the extents parents are willing to go to to avoid paying and the struggle of those left without it. Parents are seeking support and 'extra funds' from the charity through referrals from the Department for Work and Pensions and other charities.

Read more: Britain's best plasterer is single mum from Birmingham who quit her desk job in her 30s

Speaking to BirminghamLive, she said: "They are looking for funds that no one has. They are really, really struggling to pay bills, to afford clothes and school uniform. Particularly as winter is coming, it's heating, clothing, all those things are a massive challenge.

"Single parents are talking about child poverty and the constant decision making to keep afloat even slightly. They're buying discounted food, some will only buy food that has a yellow sticker on.

"They're eating out of date food themselves and they can't remember the last time they did anything for themselves like a haircut. Children aren't going without necessities necessarily.

"When you are a single income household it is very, very difficult to work your way out of poverty. With the cost of running a household, the safety net just isn't there. Some are working multiple jobs, really making as many sacrifices as they can."

As we reported in our Child Poverty Emergency report in the autumn, the numbers of children affected has rocketed in under a decade, with more kids feeling the pain of poverty today in the city than at any time since modern records began

Six of the top 20 deprived areas in the UK are based in the West Midlands, Alexandra added. Ladywood, Hodge Hill, Perry Barr, West Bromwich, Hall Green and Yardley all fall within the worst areas for child poverty. Gingerbread, which offers specific advice, social security calculations and advice around employment, helps both receiving and paying parents - although these roles can swap over time depending on childcare arrangements.

She said: "By 2030, £1billion will be expected to be owed in child maintenance. This would make a massive difference to a child's life. In terms of the essentials like school uniform or also being able to do some of the nice things. Parents talk to us about not being able to do extra curriculum activities, like music lessons.

"One of the massive issues as well is, not only is non payment an issue, but sometimes we have really inconsistent payments on the collect and pay set up. One parent said it was used as a tool by their ex partner, so payments were always stopped before expensive times of the year. Where they had a pay for holiday care for the summer holidays, right before birthdays or Christmas. It was being used as a method of post separation coercive control.

"A lot of parents who don't have any arrangement say it's because their faith in the system is quiet low. I spoke to somebody recently who was owed £30,000 in child maintenance." She added that she regularly receives emails from MPs to say "we are receiving so many emails about child maintenance."

Some parents will go to extreme lengths not to pay up - despite sometimes being high-earners while their former partners have "very little", she explained. Having their salaries paid into different accounts, skipping from job to job or exploiting the 'self-employed loophole' were among the ways people were evading child maintenance.

She urged anyone struggling to contact the Gingerbread advice line which "provides support and expert advice" on any aspect of single parenting, from dealing with a break-up or bereavement to going back to work or sorting out child maintenance, benefit or Universal Credit issues. The service, which can be contacted on 0808 802 0925 or via webchat, is free and confidential.

Have you been affected by unpaid child maintenance or child poverty? We would like to hear your views. You can contact us anonymously on stephanie.balloo@reachplc.com