MYTHS ABOUT SOCIAL SECURITY 4: “PROVIDING EXTRA FINANCIAL SUPPORT TO FAMILIES IN POVERTY IS SPENT ON ALCOHOL AND DRUGS”

In some instances parents in poverty are portrayed as being unable to manage their money effectively and ‘wasting’ money on drugs and alcohol. In fact this runs counter to the evidence and experience of groups like Save the Children who work with parents, which shows that low income parents are often adept, out of necessity, at managing on tight budgets and protecting their children from the worst effects of poverty:

Low income parents are more likely to spend extra financial support provided through the benefits system on their children than better off parents.

While the impact of having a parent who misuses alcohol or drugs is very significant, the number of families with such parents is small. The most recent data available shows these families are atypical across the population: only 2.7% of families in Britain have an alcohol dependent parent, and 0.9% a drug dependent parent.

The truth is that parents on low incomes are cutting back on things for themselves so that their children don’t suffer. Research by Save the Children found:

Well over half (61%) of parents in poverty say they have cut back on food

Over a quarter (26%) say they have skipped meals in the past year.

Whilst alcohol and drug misuse combines with other factors (like poor diet and bad housing) to have a greater detrimental impact on people from low income background compared to those from higher socio-economic groups, it is worth bearing in mind the following:

Children from middle class families are more likely to have tried alcohol by age 12 than children from low income homes.

A recent 4Children report rightly highlighted the impact drinking by parents has on parenting ability and child development and also that the “households most likely to drink were the wealthiest - with almost four times as many families in the top-earning groups, drinking every day compared to the poorest.”