Poll finds support for withdrawing benefits from 'bad parents'

The Families in Britain report found more than half of 2,000 respondents to an Ipsos Mori poll supported the idea of parents "who fail to bring up their children properly" becoming ineligible for benefits, but said people struggled to define bad parenting.

Half of respondents said all parents should receive some government help towards the cost of raising a child, while four in ten thought only poor parents should benefit. More respondents thought Child benefit should be available to all parents (43 per cent) than thought it should be limited to poor families (30 per cent).

Ben Page, chair of the Ipsos Mori Social Research Institute, said: "The current economic situation will put even more pressure on families that already function less well than in many other European countries. The government will need to do more to help people help themselves."

Kathy Evans, policy director at The Children's Society, said: "At a time when many families are struggling, it is vital we look carefully at the best way to support them. However, The Children's Society strongly disagrees with any suggestion that family benefits should be made conditional, and that parents who are viewed as failing should lose eligibility."

She added: "Families who are struggling need support, rather than punishment, to improve the lives of their children."