I am a single parent who wanted to pursue a course in social work, a career that would allow me to improve my future prospects while contributing to my community. Unfortunately, the way Universal Credit interacts with student funding meant that I faced a substantial financial shortfall and was forced to turn down this opportunity.

I had worked hard to reach this point. I wanted to gain a qualification, progress into a better-paid career and build a more secure future for my daughter. Instead, I was left facing the difficult choice between pursuing my education and being able to afford my rent and essential living costs. No parent should have to put their family's financial security at risk simply because they want to improve their circumstances.

This is not just my struggle. It raises a wider issue for single parents across the United Kingdom who want to attend university, undertake postgraduate study, gain professional qualifications or retrain for a different career, but find that the financial implications make these opportunities unaffordable.

The wider problem: poverty and barriers to education
Single-parent families face a disproportionately high risk of poverty. A House of Commons Library briefing reported that, in 2019–20, 49% of children living in single-parent families were in relative poverty after housing costs, compared with 25% of children living in couple-parent families. These figures demonstrate the financial vulnerability faced by many families and the importance of ensuring that parents can access opportunities to improve their circumstances.

Source: House of Commons Library, Support for single parent families (2023), drawing on Department for Work and Pensions statistics.

Education, training and gaining new skills can be important routes into better-paid and more secure employment. However, if the interaction between student funding and Universal Credit leaves parents unable to meet essential costs, these routes may be closed off to the very people who could benefit from them most.

Universal Credit should help people on low incomes manage financially while they work towards greater independence. The rules surrounding student loans and bursaries can make that progression difficult, particularly for parents who are responsible for their children's housing, food and everyday needs.

The issue is not simply whether a student receives funding. It is whether the funding available, alongside any remaining benefit entitlement, is sufficient to cover essential living costs. A bursary intended to support someone through professional training does not automatically mean that they can afford their rent and all their other responsibilities.

Why this needs to change
I have spent years trying to find a realistic way to progress into social work. I secured a place on Step Up to Social Work, but the financial implications meant I could not take up the opportunity without putting my household finances at risk.

I contacted the Department for Work and Pensions and my MP to seek a solution. The issue has also been raised in Parliament through a written question asking the Government about the adequacy of the Step Up to Social Work bursary for single working parents.

Yet my experience has highlighted a wider concern: how can the Government encourage people to improve their employment prospects if the rules governing financial support make education and retraining financially unrealistic?

This is bigger than one course, one bursary or one person. I am concerned about the barriers faced by single parents who want to pursue university degrees, master's degrees, professional qualifications and vocational training. Parents should have a realistic opportunity to develop their skills without facing the prospect of unmanageable debt, financial hardship or housing insecurity.

The system should encourage ambition, education and workforce participation, not inadvertently make it harder for people to move out of low-paid employment and become more financially independent.

What I am asking the Government to do
I am calling on the Government to:

Review the current rules: Examine how student loans, maintenance funding and education or training bursaries are treated when calculating Universal Credit, including the impact on housing support.
Protect essential living costs: Consider safeguards for eligible low-income parents so that pursuing approved education or professional training does not leave them unable to afford rent and basic household expenses.
Make education financially realistic: Assess whether bursaries and other student funding provide sufficient support for single parents with childcare responsibilities and essential living costs.
Support career progression: Ensure that the interaction between education funding and the benefits system does not unnecessarily prevent people from gaining qualifications that could improve their employment prospects and earning potential.
Listen to affected parents: Consult single parents, students, training providers and relevant organisations to understand the real-life consequences of the current rules and identify workable solutions.
Explain what will change: Publish the findings of this review and set out what action the Government will take to address any barriers identified.
I am not asking for special treatment or for the Government to disregard the need for fair benefit rules. I am asking for a system that recognises the long-term value of education and gives low-income parents a realistic opportunity to improve their circumstances.

I want to work, progress in my career and provide a better future for my daughter. I should not be prevented from pursuing that future because the financial consequences of studying make it impossible to manage.

There must be a way to support people who want to better themselves without forcing them to choose between education and financial security.

Please sign and share this petition to call on the Government to review Universal Credit rules and introduce fairer arrangements for single parents who want to pursue higher education, professional training or retraining.

Together, we can ask for a system that supports ambition, recognises the realities of single-parent life and makes it possible for more families to build a secure future.