§ Sir Brandon Rhys Williamsasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is his latest estimate of the number of one-parent families; and if he will distinguish between parents who are (a) widows, (b) widowers, (c) divorced, separated or deserted husbands or wives, and(d) unmarried mothers or fathers.
§ Mrs. ChalkerThe latest estimate by the OPCS is as follows. The methods by which the estimates are made are described in an article inPopulation Trends No. 13, 1978
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One Parent Families in Great Britain Mid-1979 000s Mothers Single 140 Widowed 110 Divorced 310 Separated (Married) 200 Total Mothers 760 Fathers Total Fathers 100 Total 860 Detailed estimates are not available of the number of fathers by marital condition. However, the limited evidence from the general household survey suggests a relatively small number of unmarried fathers and that there are roughly equal numbers of widowed, divorced and separated fathers heading one-parent families.
Since 1971 the largest increase in the estimated numbers of one-parent families has been in respect of divorced mothers. Recent trends in the number of divorcing couples with children aged under 16, together with evidence from the general household survey suggest that the number of divorced mothers with children may no longer be increasing as rapidly as in the early and mid-1970s. Taking this into account the DHSS is assuming for working purposes that the total number of one-parent families is currently around the 900,000 mark.