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Britain has the highest rate of teenage and adolescent pregnancies in Europe. 89 per cent of these women do not receive any support of the father (Donovan 524). Women become pregnant for the wrong reasons and mothers who are in real need of support, do not get help often and well enough. The government should invest more money, in order to prevent problems and provide the best help. Firstly, young single mothers are claimed to have a baby to secure local-authority housing. Moreover, 75 per cent of young mothers were surviving below the official poverty line during the last 15 years. Finally, young mothers prefer not to work, and live at taxpayers expenses. The government should improve the facilities for young single mothers (Storry & Childs 134-136). Firstly, it is claimed that young mothers become pregnant in order to secure scarce local-authority housing. According to Storry & Child in British Cultural Identities, young people do not receive housing subsidies easily; therefore they are having a child and skip the waiting list to live in houses provided by the local-authorities. The fact that young women choose to be a mother and they do not have to live on the streets is a wrong reason for women to have a child. The government should provide more houses for young tenants in the first place, so that these young girls do not need to have a baby in order to have a place to stay.
Additionally, 75 per cent of young mothers have subsisted below the official poverty line during the last 15 years (Storry & Childs 136). The amount of money needed for a single woman in Britain is estimated on 13,400 pounds (BBC 1). According to BBC news, 600,000 new mothers have been helped with some extra cash in 2008. In comparison to the last 15 years they are heading the right way. But the government can always do better. Furthermore, young mothers prefer not to work, but ‘marry the state-benefit system’ instead (Storry & Childs 136). Because young single mothers do not have money to pay for child care, they cannot study or work. They are now living at the taxpayers expenses. The government should provide more subsidies for childcare and education for these young mothers, in order to improve employment amongst young mothers (Donovan 527). When the young single women are working, they will be out of the state-benefit system. The government should do something about the facilities for young single mothers, by injecting more money in the problems and providing them. Firstly, the government should increase housing subsidies for young tenants in common; to prevent irresponsible women having children for the wrong reasons. Secondly, subsidies for young single mothers should be increased as well. Therefore, young single mothers and their children do not have to live in poverty. And finally, childcare and education for young single mothers should be financed and stimulated, in order to secure a future for these young women and their children.

Works Cited

“UK life costs 'at least £13,400'” BBC news. Web. 2 July 2008: 1
Bramley, G. Smart, G. “Who benefits from local services? Comparative evidence from different local authorities” 1993: 1-3
Donovan, Jenny, Jewell, David & Tacchi, Jo. “Teenage pregnancy: whose problem is it” Beliefs and Behaviour. 2000: 522-528
Lewis, Jane. “7. Housing and Lone Mothers” Lone Motherhood in twentieth-century Britain. 1998: 211-218
Seibold, Carmel. “Young single women's experiences of pregnancy, adjustment, decision- making and ongoing identity Construction” Web. 2004: 171-180
Storry, Mike and Peter Childs. “3. Gender, Sex and the Family” British Cultural Identities. Third Edition. 2007: 134-138