A disturbing number of single mums in Merseyside are being made homeless with their children.
New figures have revealed that single mums reportedly account for more than a quarter of the whopping 2,780 accepted homelessness cases in the region during the last six months of 2018.
Of those, 756 were single women with children. That compares to just 75 who were single men with children.
These figures mean that female single parents account for 27.2 per cent of all homelessness cases in Merseyside - a figure that rises as high as 31.1 per cent in Wirral and 30.5 per cent in Knowsley.
The data was published by the Ministry of Housing, Communities of Local Government.
It shows that in a further 526 cases across Merseyside, the household facing homelessness was made up of a single woman without children.
That means single women - with or without children - make up 46.1 per cent of all homelessness cases in Merseyside.
Of the total 2,780 homelessness cases between July and December, 1,102 were in Liverpool alone.
Sefton had the fewest cases, with 314.
Councils have to assess all people who approach them saying they have been made homeless, or are about to be made homeless.
In a minority of cases the council may decide that the household is not at risk of homelessness within 56 days, and refuse to provide assistance. People can also be turned down if they refuse an offer of accommodation.
If a household is entitled to help, the council must either provide suitable accommodation - through its own stock, or a private or not-for-profit landlord - or provide help that “is sufficient to secure accommodation”.
A “household” can be either a single person without children, or a single parent, or a couple, or a couple with children.
Across England, some 66,960 households were found to be owed help from their local council between July and September last year.
That fell to 61,410 between October and December.
Of those 61,410, nearly half (28,400) were already homeless at the time they sought help. The rest were facing immediate homelessness.
Some 15,020 had lost, or were losing, their previous home because they were being kicked out by family or friends.
A further 13,830 were coming to the end of a private rented tenancy.
In 5,380 cases, domestic violence was a factor in the household losing their previous home.
A total of 13,820 of the households that were owed a duty of help between October and December were female single-parent families.
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