The last thirty years saw dramatic increases in the proportion of children living in lone parent households. In 1997 the incoming Labour government initiated a series of policy reforms aimed at reducing this high level of child poverty. A key element of their strategy was a move towards...

According to Family Expenditure Survey (FES) data, child poverty (with a poverty line defined at half mean equivalised household income) has risen markedly in Britain in the last 30 years. By 1995-96, around one in three - or 4.3 million - children were living in poor households. This compares...

The last thirty years saw dramatic increases in the employment rates of married/co-habiting mothers in the UK. Yet the employment rates of lone mothers were lower in the early 1990s than in the late 1970s, at just under 40 percent; and 25 percentage points lower than those of married mothers. In...