I am a single, working parent who recently found myself faced with an overwhelming council tax bill, backdated for two years due to my earnings. To meet the system criteria for single working parents, I was forced to reject a promotion, decrease my working hours and reduce my salary. The current council system, instead of encouraging single working parents towards financial stability and independence from benefits, is doing the opposite, holding us back and trapping us. When the reality is, the more we earn the more we suffer financially and emotionally. 

Around 3 million children in the UK live with single parents, and they are twice as likely to live in relative poverty compared to those in couple families (source: Office for National Statistics, UK). The penalization rules by the council are unjust, primarily hitting single working parents hardest, creating obstacles instead of possibilities.

We are asking for a reform, demanding that the council reconsiders how single working parents are assessed for wages and tax, and revise the penalization system criteria. No single working parent should have to turn down opportunities or reduce their income to meet these conditions.

The current system is an embarrassment and negates the concept of fair and equal opportunities. Let us take a step towards rectifying this issue by revising the penalization rules for single working parents. Please show your support and sign this petition, share your own struggles and stories.

Let's make a change, not only for ourselves as single parents but for our children and their future as well as anyone else who is penalised by the government and council/benefits system.