One Parent Families Scotland

One Parent Families Scotland One Parent Families Scotland (www.opfs.org.uk) is a national charity supporting single parents and separating parents in Scotland. Helpline 0808 801 0323.

Today, we're thinking of all the people who play a fatherly role in a child's life.Father's Day can be a day of celebrat...
21/06/2026

Today, we're thinking of all the people who play a fatherly role in a child's life.

Father's Day can be a day of celebration, reflection, or mixed emotions. Every family's story is unique, and for many single parent families, support, love and guidance come from a wide range of people: dads, stepdads, grandads, uncles, mentors, friends and carers.

To everyone making a positive difference in a child's life: thank you.

🙏 Thank you to everyone who supported and signed our open letter to the Prime Minister calling for reform of the child m...
19/06/2026

🙏 Thank you to everyone who supported and signed our open letter to the Prime Minister calling for reform of the child maintenance system.

📨 We have now received a response from Baroness Maeve Sherlock, Minister for Lords at the Department for Work and Pensions, following our call for change.

📝 We will publish a fuller response in due course, but here is a brief overview of what the Minister's letter does, and does not, say:

🏛️ The response, alongside the recent House of Lords debate on Child Maintenance Service (CMS) reform, shows growing cross-party recognition that the system is not working for too many children and families, particularly victim-survivors of domestic and economic abuse.

✅ We welcome commitments to:
• Reduce CMS fees (although we continue to call for them to be abolished altogether)
• Include unearned income in child maintenance calculations
• Lower the threshold for recalculating payments when a paying parent's income changes from 25% to 15%
• Plans to improve local support for parents applying for child maintenance

⚠️ However, many of the recommendations put forward by OPFS, single parents, and our partners IPPR Scotland and have not been fully addressed.

The response does not commit to:
• Scrapping CMS fees
• Replacing Collect and Pay and Direct Pay with a more accessible platform for all separated families
• Delivering the wider reforms needed to create a child maintenance system that consistently puts children's needs first

💜 Your support helped bring these issues to the attention of decision-makers and keep pressure on the UK Government to act. Thank you for standing with us.

We'll continue to push for a fairer, more effective child maintenance system.

👀 Watch out for news soon about support available across Scotland for single parent families navigating the CMS.

👓 Read the Minister's response: https://opfs.org.uk/get-involved/news-and-events/news/open-letter-response-child-maintenance/

OPFS has joined a coalition of charities calling for an emergency parliamentary committee on child poverty.Single parent...
19/06/2026

OPFS has joined a coalition of charities calling for an emergency parliamentary committee on child poverty.

Single parent families are among those most at risk of poverty in Scotland. We need stronger scrutiny and accountability if Scotland is to meet its legally binding child poverty targets.

Read more and the full joint letter to the The Scottish Parliament Education & Gaelic, Equalities and Human Rights and Social Justice Committees

https://opfs.org.uk/get-involved/news-and-events/news/opfs-joins-call-for-emergency-child-poverty-committee/

Barnardo's Scotland CELCIS Child Poverty Action Group UK Children and Young People's Commissioner Scotland Children First Coalition for Racial Equality and Rights (CRER) Families Outside Home-Start UK includem Independent Food Aid Network Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) Parenting Across Scotland Aberlour Children's Charity The Poverty Alliance Save the Children Scotland The Scottish Pantry Network Scottish Women's Budget Group Trussell Fife Gingerbread

Public Health Scotland is reviewing the Ready Steady Baby! resource and would welcome feedback from expectant and new pa...
17/06/2026

Public Health Scotland is reviewing the Ready Steady Baby! resource and would welcome feedback from expectant and new parents across Scotland 🤰

If you are pregnant or have been pregnant in the last six months, we would love to hear your views.

Share your experience by completing the short anonymous survey here: https://online1.snapsurveys.com/SG257RSB

We have a number of roles within our Dundee and Falkirk servicesJoin a committed, skilled team that works hard to improv...
16/06/2026

We have a number of roles within our Dundee and Falkirk services

Join a committed, skilled team that works hard to improve the lives of single parent families in Scotland.
In return, we offer:
- 25 days Annual leave and 12 Public holidays (pro-rata)
- Auto enrolment in our pension scheme with a 3% contribution from you and 7% contribution from OPFS.
- Opportunities to develop your career,

We recruit staff from a wide range of backgrounds and ages. We offer flexible working so that all staff can balance work with family and personal development needs.

Job share will be considered for all OPFS posts.

We are a Living Wage and Living Hours employer.

Find out more and apply: https://opfs.org.uk/get-involved/work-with-us/

Last week, the House of Lords debated the Public Services Committee's report on reforming the Child Maintenance Service....
15/06/2026

Last week, the House of Lords debated the Public Services Committee's report on reforming the Child Maintenance Service. Many of the concerns raised around calculations, enforcement, communication and support for victim-survivors of abuse reflect the experiences single parents have shared through the Transforming Child Maintenance project.

But recognition alone is not enough.

Our research with IPPR Scotland and Fife Gingerbread shows that around 210,000 children could be lifted out of poverty if children received the financial support they are entitled to.

The evidence is clear. The question now is when will action follow?

Read our full response: https://opfs.org.uk/get-involved/news-and-events/news/opfs-response-to-debate-reforming-child-maintenance-service/

If you need support with child maintenance, reach out to our Helpline/Live Chat service.

At One Parent Families Scotland we are heartbroken and deeply concerned by the outbursts of racist disorder, violence an...
12/06/2026

At One Parent Families Scotland we are heartbroken and deeply concerned by the outbursts of racist disorder, violence and threats this week. Families are being cut off from the essential support they need as many parents are telling us they are afraid to travel. Many fear for their own safety and lives as well as the wider community. This situation must not be allowed to continue.

The violence and racist abuse that has taken place this week is unacceptable and has no place in Scotland. At OPFS, we stand in solidarity with everyone affected by this week's disorder, in particular those in our community who are from Black and Ethnic Minority backgrounds.

Whether you made your homes in Scotland decades ago or are newly arrived, we respect and support you. Everyone has the right to be safe. You belong here.

Today, One Parent Families Scotland has joined Back Off Scotland and a broad coalition of healthcare organisations, wome...
09/06/2026

Today, One Parent Families Scotland has joined Back Off Scotland and a broad coalition of healthcare organisations, women’s rights groups and third sector partners in calling on the First Minister to reinstate a dedicated Minister for Women’s Health.

Women’s health inequalities remain deeply embedded across Scotland’s healthcare system. From maternity care and perinatal mental health services to gynaecological waiting times and abortion access, sustained leadership and accountability are essential to delivering the improvements women need and deserve.

As an organisation that works closely with single parents, most of whom are women, we know that barriers to healthcare can have profound impacts on families, financial security, wellbeing and equality.

We are proud to stand alongside colleagues across Scotland in urging the The Scottish Government to restore a dedicated ministerial portfolio for women’s health.

We are expecting a First Minister’s Question on this from Green Party Health Spokesperson, Kayleigh Kinross-O’Neill MSP, this afternoon.

📺 You can watch live at approximately 2.30pm: https://www.scottishparliament.tv/

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2 York Place
Edinburgh
EH13EP

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Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

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