20.1.92 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanCommunities NoC14/35
OpiniononLoneParentFamilies
(92/C14/14)
On25April1991theEconomicandSocialCommittee,actingunderthefourthparagraph
ofArticle20oftheRulesofProcedure,decidedtodrawupanOpiniononLoneParent
Families.
TheSectionforSocial,Family,EducationalandCulturalAffairs,whichwasresponsiblefor
preparingtheCommittee'sworkonthesubject,adopteditsOpinionon11October1991.
(TheRapporteurwasMsSlipman.)
Atits290thplenarysession(meetingof31October1991),theEconomicandSocialCommittee
adoptedthefollowingOpinionbyamajorityvotewith2abstentions.
1.Introduction TheReporttentativelyconcludedthatatleast10%of
familieswithchildrenwithintheECareloneparent
families.Thisfigureisnowoutofdateandwewould
haveexpectedittohavegrownoverthepastfiveyears. Therehasbeenagrowthinthenumbersofloneparent
familiesinmostcountrieswithintheEuropeanCom­
munity,withthemostmarkedincreasebeinginthe
northerncountries.Nocountryhasacoherentstrategy
orpolicyframeworktowardsloneparentfamilies.At
bestaseriesofadhocmeasureshavebeenadoptedin
responsetotheirgrowth,combinedwithanunderlying
reluctancetotakeanymeasuresthatcouldbeseenas
contributingtoafurthergrowthinnumbers,anda
hopethatthetrendswillbereversed.TheESCbelieves
thatloneparentfamiliesasagroupnowfaceconsider­
abledisadvantageandexclusionandthatactionshould
betakenwithintheEuropeanCommunitytoaddress
theproblemsofsuchfamilies,withinthegeneralcon­
textofalreadydevelopedequalopportunitiesandfam­
ilypoliciesandprogrammes ,toensurethatloneparents
andtheirchildrenhavefullandequalaccesstosuch
programmes .TheprincipleuponwhichtheECshould
formulatepolicyisthatallfamiliesshouldhaveequal
accesstosocialparticipation ,analyzingthepublic
investmentrequirementuponfamilies'privateecon­
omicandotherresources .2.Trends
Themajorgrowthinloneparenthoodhasresultedfrom
separationanddivorce,ratherthanfrombirthsoutside
marriage.Whilstbirthsoutsidemarriagehaveincreased
overthepast20yearsthereisevidencethatmanyof
thechildrenareborntocohabitatingcouples.These
statisticsshouldthereforebetreatedwithsomecaution.
Thereisnodirectcorrelationbetweenthenumberof
birthsoutsidemarriageandthenumberofloneparent
families,asalargenumberofthefamiliesconcerned
aretwoparentfamiliesinwhichtheparentshave
decidednottomarry.
BirthsOutsideMarriage(*)
AReportproducedfortheCommissioninJanuary
1989foundthatitisgenerallydifficulttocomparethe
measurementofloneparentfamiliesbetweenMember
States,aseachMemberStateemploysslightlydifferent
criteriawhichdivergefromthenormoutlinedbelow(*),
neverthelessasaroughmeasurementitconcludedthat
thepercentagesofloneparentfamiliesamongstfamilies
withchildrenareasfollows:Country 1960197019801989
Belgium 2,12,84,111,0
Denmark 7,811,033,245,0
France 6,16,811,428,4
Germany 6,35,57,610,3
Greece 1,21,11,52,1
Ireland 1,62,75,012,6
Italy 2,42,24,36,1
Luxembourg 0,24,06,011,8
Holland 1,42,14,110,7
Portugal 9,57,39,214,5
UK 5,28,011,526,6
Spain 2,31,43,910,014% Denmark,UK
12-13% Germany(2),France
10-12% Belgium,Luxembourg ,Netherlands
5-10%Spain,Ireland,Portugal
5% Greece
(*)Birthsoutsidemarriageasapercentageofalllivebirths.
(Source:EUROSTAT,StatistiquesDémographiques 1989).
(')Thestandarddefinitionofaloneparentfamilyisofaparent
livingwithoutapartner,withunmarriedchildrenandeither
livingaloneorwithothers.
(2)StatisticsrelatetoFRG.DespitethevariationindetailbetweenMember
countries'statisticstheECReportconcludedthat

NoC14/36 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanCommunities 20.1.92
somegeneralizations aboutloneparentfamiliesarecountrieshavesomeformofwelfarebenefitbutthe
importanceofbenefitsasapercentageoffamilyincome
isveryvaried.Insomestatestheyplayaminorrole,
inotherstheyaresecondarytoemploymentbutstill
important,andinotherstheyarethemajorsourceof
income.Somecountriesalsohavelinkedbenefitsthat
coverothercostssuchashousinginwholeorinpart.
Wherewelfarebenefitsaremeanstestedtheyoftentrap
loneparentsintounemployment atsubsistencelevels.
Thisoccursbecausebenefitiswithdrawnasearned
incomeincreaseswiththeconsequentlossofother
linkedbenefitsforhousingandothercostswhichthe
earnedincomecannotmatch.Femalewagesaremuch
lowerthanmalewagesandloneparenthouseholds
havetomeetthecostsofchildcareasamajorwork
expenseandconsequentlyloneparentscanoftenbe
worseoffinworkthantheywouldbeonbenefits.possible:
—Theoverwhelming majorityarewomen.
—Theunmarriedcategoryisthesmallest.Thelargest
consistsofdivorced/separatedpeople.
—Veryfewareagedunder25.
—Theyhavefewerchildrenthancouplesdo.Most
haveonlyonechild.
—Theirchildrenareonaverageolderthanthosein
twoparentfamilies.
—Mostliveontheirown.
—Overhalfleavethe'loneparentstate'within
5years(*).
Pro-natalistfamilyallowancesdonotassistthelone
parentwhohasfewerchildrenthancouples.3.Issues
Theonlycountrywithabenefitspecificallydesigned
forloneparentsisFrancewiththeAPI(Allocationde
Parentlsole)paidtoparentswithchildrenunderthree
orforoneyearonbecomingaloneparent.Other
countrieshavelimitedbenefitsavailabletoloneparents.
Somecountrieshavespecialtaxfacilitiesforlone
parentswhichassistthosewhobenefitbyearningwages
overthetaxthreshold.
SomeMemberStates'benefitsystemsassumethatlone
parentswillremainoutsidethelabourmarketwhilst
theyhavedependentchildren;whileothersallowa
limitedspaceoftimeoutsidetheworkforce.3.1.Familyincome
Thepersistentcharacteristicofloneparentfamily
incomeisthatitissubstantiallylowerthantwoparent
familyincome.The1987EuropeanOmnibusSurvey
foundthat45%ofloneparentswereinthelowest
quartileofincomedistributionwithmanylivingbelow
thepovertyline.EvidencefromtheLuxembourg
IncomeDataStudyshowthatloneparentfamilies
sufferamuchhigherriskofpovertythancoupleswith
children.
Maintenancepaidbyabsentparentsfortheirchildren
isthemajorsourceofincomeforonly10%oflone
parentfamilies.InmostMemberStateswheremainten­
anceisawardeditislowtomeettheactualcostsof
childrenandinmostcasesisnotareliablesource
ofincome.WhereCourtbasedsystemsareusedfor
awardingmaintenanceordersdelaysarefrequent.
ManyECmembercountriesareconcernedaboutthe
lowcontributionthatchildmaintenance makestolone
parentincomeandaretakingstepstoraisethis.The
impetusforsuchpolicydevelopment isthegrowing
coststhatoneparentfamiliesrepresenttopublicexpen­
diture,andagrowingsensethattheprivateparental
contributiontowardsthefamilyincomeshouldbe
improved.
Themajorsourcesofincomearestateprovidedwelfare
benefitsand/orwagesfromemployment .Most3.2.Employment
Theratesofemploymentvaryenormouslyfrom
countrytocountry;fromunderaquartertooverthree
quartersoflonemothers.Insixcountrieslonemothers
aremorelikelytobeemployedthanmothersincouples
andinthreecountrieslesslikelytobeso.Thereasons
forsuchwidevariationwithinemploymentpatterns
dependupontheinteractionofthewelfarebenefit
systemwithtrainingandemploymentopportunities
andaccesstochildcare.Somecountriestakea'coercive'
approachtolabourmarketentrybyprovidingtime
limitedwelfarebenefits,forexample,buttheymay
nottakeanyfurtherpositiveactiontowardstheother
elementswithinapositiveemploymentstrategy.In
general,however,theemploymentrateoflonemothers
islowerthanthatforlonefathers.Lonemotherswho
areemployedworklongerhoursthanothermothers
whoareemployed,butbothmarriedandlonemothers(*)Leavingtheloneparentstateisnormallythroughmarriage
orre-marriage,butgiventhatthetrendisforlargernumbers
ofsecondmarriagestoendindivorcewheretheparties'first
marriageendedindivorce,asizeableproportionmustre­
entertheloneparentstatewithintheperiodoftheirchildren's
dependence.

20.1.92 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanCommunities NoC14/37
arelesslikelytoworkiftheyhaveaveryyoungchild.
Averageearningsforloneparentsinemploymentare
lowernotonlythantheaverageearningsoftwoearner
coupleswithchildrenbutalsoofoneearnercouples
withchildren.Ingeneralloneparentsareworkingin
lowpaidemployment ,althoughtheirnumbersinclude
manywomenwhohavesomeformalofprofessional
qualification .Inadditionlargenumbersofloneparents
areforcedintohomeworking toovercomethelackof
childcareforminimalpayandinconditionswhere
employmentprotectionislacking.Theobjectiveof
openingupemploymenttoloneparentsrequireswell
paidworkopportunitiestobecomeavailablethrough
acombinationofdecentvocationaltaining,andequal
opportunities'strategiestogivewomenentryintotra­
ditionalmalesectorsofemployment .oneparentfamilies.Thenumbersofethnicminority
oneparentfamiliesinvolvedmaynotbelarge,butthe
problemstheyfacearetosomeextentdifferentor
additional.Forexample,Afro-Caribbean lonemothers
oftenhavemoresupportivewiderfamilygroupseven
iftheyhavetheaddedproblemofracialdiscrimination
toovercome.Insomeinstancesthiswiderfamilystruc­
turecanleadtodiscrimination inaccesstopublicly
providedsupport.Thereissomeevidencethatthis
differentfamilystructureisunjustifiablyusedasa
reasontodenytheparentaccesstoscarcechildcare
resources.Theproblemsforanon-Englishspeaking
Asianmothermaybeveryintense,particularlywhere
thatmotherhasoffendedagainsthercommunity'scode
andisrejectedbyherownfamily.ElsewhereinEurope
theproblemsarenotsomuchthoseofMember
countries'citizens,butofmigrantgroupswhomaynot
enjoytherightsofcitizenship.
3.3.Childcare
3.6.ProblemsofyoungmothersThelevelofchildcaresupportavailabletoloneparents
isessentialinopeningupopportunitiestoescapethe
isolationofoneparentfamilylife,tosupportparenting
skills,totrainforbetterpaidemploymentandtoenter
thelabourmarket.Thevariationinchildcaresupport
throughoutECcountrieshasbeenwelldocumented,
butitisclearthatanysupportforloneparentfamily
liferequiresamajorimprovement intheavailability
andaffordabilityofchildcarethatisflexibleenoughto
meettheneedsofworkingparentsaswellasthechild's
needforsocialandintellectualdevelopment .Whilstyoungnevermarriedmothersformthesmallest
groupingofloneparentheadofhouseholds,theyface
specialproblems.Thisisparticularlythecasewhere
themotherhasnotfinishedformaleducation,orhas
notacquiredanyworkskills.Indeedthereisworrythat
thetrendforprofessionally qualifiedyoungwomenis
becomingthefirmestablishment ofacareerbefore
embarkingonchildbearing ,whilsttheirlessacademic
orprofessionalcounterpartsaremorelikelytohave
childrenyoungasapassportintoadulthoodandwith
fewalternativesonofferwithinthefieldofemployment
giventhelackofopportunities ingeneralforyoung
women.3.4.Housing
4.PossiblestrategiesOneparentfamiliesarelesslikelytoowntheirown
homesthantwoparentfamilies.InBelgium32%com­
paredwith66%oftwoparentfamilies;inDenmark
1in3comparedwith4in5;inGermany22%compared
with53%,inFrance17%comparedwith24%;inthe
Netherlands15%comparedwith59%;andintheUK
29%comparedwith67%.Inseveralcountriesone
parentfamilieswerelikelytobelivingintheleast
desirablepublicorsocialsectoraccommodation ,and
insubsidizedhousingintheleastdesirablepartsof
towns.Manyloneparentfamiliesfacehomelessness
whenrelationshipswithpartnersbreakdown.Apro­
grammeofbuildingreasonablefamilysocialsector
accommodation isessentialtoaddresstheseproblems.AsamovetowardsamoreintegratedECpolicy
approachtheincoherenceofpolicydevelopments
aroundtheoneparentfamilyshouldberesolved.The
ESCrecognizesthatloneparentfamiliesareadisadvan­
tagedgroupoffamilies,andassuchhavespecialneeds.
ButequallytheESCconsidersthattheobjectiveofany
actionmustbetogivethemaccesstothemainstream
lifewithintheEuropeanCommunity .TheESCbelieves
thiscouldbestbedonebyconsideringthespecialneeds
ofloneparentsingivingaccesstoexistingequaloppor­
tunitiesandfamilyprogrammes ,andtoprovidingany
additionalsupportloneparentfamiliesrequireinorder
toparticipate.TheESCrecognizesthatinmanylarge
citiestheregenerationofeconomicgrowthanddevelop­
mentrequirestheeconomicactivityoftheheadsofone
parentfamilyhouseholds .
Anystrategiesforactionofloneparentfamiliesshould
recognizetheprincipleofchoiceinwhetherornotthe3.5.Ethnicoriginormigrantstatus
SixpercentofoneparentfamiliesintheUKarefrom
ethnicminoritygroupswithAfro-Caribbean lone
parentsmakingup5%ofthetotalandAsianlone
parentscontributing 1%.Thereis,however,adifferent
culturalpatternamongstAfro-Caribbean communities
withinwhich42,6%ofallfamilieswithchildrenare

NoC14/38 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanCommunities 20.1.92
loneparentseekswork,butwithanexpectationthat
increasinglyloneparentswillchoosetowork.TheESC
doesnotbelieveitappropriatetocompelloneparents
intothelabourmarketatthepointatwhichthey
becomeloneparentsastheymustadjusttotheroleof
residentialparentingalone,beforetakingontherole
ofbreadwinner .Manyloneparentsandtheirchildren
undergoaperiodoftraumaduringtheirinitialexperi­
enceofloneparentfamilylife.TheESCdoesnotbelieve
thatitisintheinterestsofthechildrentoforcethe
parentouttoworkincircumstanceswherethiscould
threatentheremainingsecurityoffamilylife.
Inordertoachieveequalaccesstoparticipationfor
oneparentfamiliesthefollowingstrategiesshouldbe
followed :
—ageneralsocialpolicyallowingloneparentswho
havechosentoremainathomeforcertainperiods
toreintegrateintoprofessionallifethroughpriority
accestotrainingleadingtoqualifications ,
—changetherulesofwelfarebenefitsystemsthat
includedisincentivestoparticipationinthelabour
market,
—stateinterventiontoenforcetheregularpaymentof
reasonablelevelsofchildmaintenance toensurethattheprivateparentalcontributiontowardschild
maintenance ismet,
—theEuropeanCommunityshouldensurethatlegis­
lationprovidingforreciprocalenforcementofmain­
tenanceordersmadewithinMemberStatesis
streamlinedandmademoreeffective,
—ahousingstrategywhichtakesintoaccountthe
addedpressureforgoodqualitysocialhousingcre­
atedbyrelationshipsandmarriagebreakdown,
—accesstochildcareresourcesthatcaterfortheneeds
ofbothparentandchild,accordingtofamilymeans
andneeds,
—equalaccesstovocationaleducationandtraining
takingintoaccounttheneedofthesinglebreadwin­
nertomaximizeearningspotential,
—introductionofappropriatetaxfacilitiestoassist
theloneparentatwork,andremovalofexisting
facilitiesthatdiscriminateagainstloneparents,
—equalaccesstoaminimumincomeforfamilies
madeupofearnings,servicessupportingfamilylife
andchildrenandabenefitsystemthatalleviatesin­
workpoverty,
—suppportingandimprovingservicesthatofferinfor­
mation,guidanceandtrainingtoloneparentsacross
therangeoflegal,vocationalandsocialwelfare
systems.
DoneatBrussels,31October1991.
TheChairman
oftheEconomicandSocialCommittee
FrancoisSTAEDELIN