Almost half of UK children are growing up outside the traditional family

Almost half of children in the United Kingdom are now growing up outside the traditional, nuclear family, a major study shows.

The Independent Family Review, led by England's Children's Commissioner, found that 44% of babies born at the start of the century didn't live with both biological parents their entire childhood.

The figure has doubled compared to the 70s, when around one in five children born in 1970 (21%) went on to grow up in households that did not reflect the traditional family unit.

In 2021, there were about 8.2 million families with children in the UK. Sixty-three percent were married couples, 14% were co-habiting couples, and 23% were lone-parent families. 90% of lone parents were women.

Children's Commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza believes that the government should not be "squeamish" about focusing on families in its policy-making. In a speech to Policy Exchange today, she said:

"Investing in family is the single greatest investment you can make. [The family is] there to catch us when we fall, and if you are part of a strong family, you cast your net wider to catch others.

"I am calling on everyone to put family centre stage of their agenda. If we get this right at a critical moment for families across the country, we will benefit generations to come and change children's lives."

CARE also believes that strengthening families should be at the heart of government policy and has called for changes to income tax rules to make family life easier.

Tim Cairns, CARE's Senior Policy Officer, comments:

"In the cost-of-living crisis, it is households with children or other caring responsibilities who will be hit hardest. A reformed tax system can help the most vulnerable weather the storm.

"The current approach to taxation, which focuses on the individual, means that households with children are paying more in tax than households with no dependents. This is simply unjust.

"It is also unhelpful. Placing undue financial pressure on families can lead to greater stress and even family breakdown. The way our country does tax is more of a hindrance than a help to stable family life.

"The next Prime Minister needs to consider a suite of measures to help Brits in today's challenging fiscal environment. A fairer tax deal for families must be at the top of their agenda."

A CARE report, produced in partnership with fiscal policy experts Tax & the Family, demonstrates that the current approach to taxation is inherently unfair. It states:

"Families with a single income (one-earner couple families and single parent families) are the most disadvantaged by the income tax system. Our figures also suggest that families with two equal incomes may have higher tax liabilities than households without dependents. This unfairness is due to the fact that UK income tax is based on the individual and has little regard for family responsibilities."

Calling for significant "structural reform" of the income tax system, the report adds:

"What is needed is a culture change so that the household is recognised as the basic unit of taxation, just as it is for other purposes. This will enable the unfairness and disadvantages for families with children considered earlier in this report to be tackled and the UK system brought more closely into line with those in most other developed countries."