Britain ranks third worst in Europe for home life
The Relationships Foundation has released details of a large study revealing that rising levels of debt, poverty and long unsocial working hours means Britain ranks among the worst countries in Europe for families.
The Family Pressure Gauge report found that money worries, poor living conditions and a lack of support from parents all played a part in British families being among the most pressured in Europe, with one in every five families struggling to break even.
Additional significant findings from the report included the following:
-14 per cent of families in the UK are suffering from ‘critical’ debt levels compared to 1 per cent of Swedish, Finnish and Norwegian households.
-Almost one quarter of the average UK working family’s income is spent on childcare costs. This is double the amount french families spend and three times more than German families spend.
-One in seven families use over 40 per cent of their income to pay their rent or mortgage.
-Britain is the second worst country in Europe for giving maternity and paternity leave.
-One in 20 families are living in what is considered to be ‘severe housing deprivation’, overcrowded houses which are in poor condition such as without a toilet. This is a significantly higher amount than in other European countries and is notably 12 times more than in the Netherlands.
The report paints a picture of how British families are coping in comparison to 26 other European countries and is based on the analysis of 25 key factors including pressures of money, parenting, living conditions and work.
The report highlights that very little has been done since the Childhood and Families task force was set up last June and executive director of the Relationships Foundation, Michael Trend, has said that the Government really needs to get its act together on family policy.
If you are struggling to cope with any issues mentioned in the above article then please visit our Types of Distress section where you can find detailed information about the various areas in which counselling and psychotherapy may be able to help you.
View the original Independent article.