Gingerbread warns on 'misleading rhetoric about young parents'

Single parent charity Gingerbread has called on the Government to steer clear of misleading rhetoric about young parents. Responding to the Prime Minister's Conference speech, Chief Executive of the charity Fiona Weir said:  "Damaging myths abound about young parents, and it's vital that politicians don’t reinforce these.

"Just three per cent of all births in 2007 (the latest available data) were to mothers under 18, and teenagers make up just two per cent of single parents. Far from ‘being handed the keys to a council flat’ young people under 18 are in fact not allowed to hold a tenancy.”

“Most teenage parents already live at home and homeless 16 and 17 year olds are already supposed to be offered supported accommodation by their local authority. More investment in making this supported accommodation a reality across the country would be welcome – but it must not be accompanied by rhetoric that risks reinforcing myths about teenage parents.”

http://www.gingerbread.org.uk/