COST OF LIVING: WALLSEND PARENT SURVEY

September 2022

Executive Summary

• More parents are struggling with their finances than in October 2021. Specifically, more parents have had to cut back on their spending and are worried about not having enough money to buy food
• In addition, four in ten parents are now worried that they will not be able to fully heat their home this winter and just over a quarter have recently gone into new debt
• Importantly, parents struggling with their finances are significantly less likely to report good levels of mental health, compared with parents who are not struggling
• Single parents and those living in privately rented and social accommodation are the most affected by the cost of living crisis
• Furthermore, single parents and those living in privately rented and social accommodation are significantly less likely to report good levels of mental health

Four-hundred and sixteen parents responded to this survey in September 2022, of which 360 were female, 54 were male, 1 identified as non-binary, and 1 preferred not to say. Three-quarters were joint parent households (vs. 27% single parents), and nearly half (47%) were educated at a degree level or higher (Table 1). Six in ten parents owned their home, 15% rented privately and 19% rented from the council (Table 2). This demographic of parents is consistent with parents who have responded to our surveys in the past.

Table 1. Levels of education

Education	% of parents
GCSE (or equivalent)	22%
A level (or equivalent)	23%
Degree (or higher)	47%
No formal qualifications	2%
Other	5%
Prefer not to say	2%

Table 2. Housing

Housing Type	% of parents
I own my home	60%
I rent from a housing association	4%
I rent from the council	19%
I rent privately	15%
Other	3%
Prefer not to say	1%

As shown in Figure 1, four in ten parents (44%) are worried that they will not be able to fully heat their home this winter, and about a quarter of parents (27%) have recently had to go into new debt.

Figure 1. Financial concerns

As expected, parents’ concerns about money have increased since last year. Parents are now more worried about not having enough money to buy food (30% vs. 20%) and are having to cut back more on spending (73% vs. 48%) than they did in October 2021 (Figure 2).

Figure 2. Financial concerns, October 2021 vs. now

The rising costs of living are affecting some parents more than others. Single parents are significantly more likely to: a) worry about not having enough money to buy food, b) worry about not being able to fully heat their homes this winter, c) have gone into new debt, and d) have recently visited a foodbank (Figure 3). High numbers of single and joint parents have had to cut back on their spending.

The cost of living crisis is also disproportionately affecting parents who live in privately rented and social housing (Figure 4). As with the above, these parents are significantly more likely to: a) worry about not having enough money to buy food, b) worry about not being able to fully heat their homes this winter, c) have gone into new debt, and d) have recently visited a foodbank. High numbers of parents in all three groups have had to cut back on spending.

Figure 3. Parents’ financial concerns, single vs. joint parents 

Figure 4. Parents’ financial concerns, owning home vs. renting privately or from the council

Two-thirds of parents (66%) said that their mental health is either somewhat good (33%) or very good (33%), which is similar to what parents said in our March 2022 survey. This suggests that levels of mental health have remained stable for most of this year. However, this is not to say that the cost of living crisis is not affecting parents. On the contrary, parents who are worried about their financial situation report significantly lower levels of good mental health (Figure 6)

Figure 5. “How would you rate your mental health at this moment?”

As can be seen in Figure 6, parents who a) worry about being able to buy food, b) worry that they can not fully heat their homes this winter, c) are having to cut back on spending, d) have recently gone into new debt and e) have recently visited a foodbank, are significantly less likely to report good levels of mental health compared with other parents.

Figure 6. % of parents reporting good levels of mental health, split by those who agree vs. disagree with each cost of living statement

In addition, single parents (55% vs. 72% joint) and parents who live in privately rented (56% vs. 74% own home) and social housing (57% vs. 74% own home) are significantly less likely to report good levels of mental health (Figures 7 & 8).

Figure 7. Difference in self-reported mental health between single and joint parents

Figure 8. Difference in self-reported mental health between privately rented, renting from council and owning home 

In summary, parents are now more concerned about their finances than they were in October 2021. And those most concerned about their finances are significantly less likely to report good levels of mental health. Furthermore, some groups of parents are being affected by the rising costs of living more so than others, and these parents are less likely to report good levels of mental health.