CAP has joined One Parent Families Scotland and other anti-poverty charities in calling on the UK Government to end the young parent penalty in Universal Credit. Under 25s are entitled to lower benefit allowances but before Universal Credit there was an exemption for young parents who were caring for children. This is no longer the case and children are being pushed into poverty as a result. Over a quarter (28%) of new CAP clients, struggling with problem debt, in 2020 were single parents and low income is the most common reason why they find themselves in debt which highlights the need for this issue to be addressed.
