Just over 40pc of children experiencing deprivation live in lone parent households, according to research by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI). Raising a child alone is regularly linked with poverty partly because a maximum of one income will be coming into the household.

Its latest study found the number of children defined as deprived but not at risk of poverty has increased, with 17pc of children defined as such in 2023 compared to 12pc in 2020.

The biggest risk factor identified was lone parentage with disability following close behind:

“39% live in households where at least one person over the age of 16 has a disability, and 41% live in lone parent households”.

Regarding policy implications, the authors said the findings suggest that “efforts to address child poverty need to address the substantial risks faced by lone parents and people with disability.”