There are 10,631 single parents living on the Maltese islands as of the last census Social Solidarity Minister Michael Farrugia has said.

He was attending a seminar on Single Parenthood in Malta, at the University campus in Valletta.

A mixed method research study called "Improving the quality of life of single parents in Malta" was being presented.

The Minister highlighted the importance given to single parents, and how their issues are increasingly on the agenda. These constitute around 9% of all households with 2 or more inhabitants. He said that a noticeable number of single parents live in poverty.

He highlighted the importance of children attending school. "I come from a family who lived in sub-standard housing for the first 14 years in my life.  They believed in me and I managed to get where I am. I can look at my parents and say, thank you for giving me this opportunity.  What we want is to get those on benefits to make sure their children attend school, so that one day they can look back and say thank you".  

The study surrounded interviews with 250 single parents with children aged 3.  A minimum sample size of 237 was needed to complete the study, also noting that the vast majority of respondents were female with a secondary level of education.

From the sample, 48.8% were employed or self-employed, 28.4% of whom worked full-time. The Minister spoke in depth about recent budget proposals, such as the tapering of benefits for single parents entering the world of work. Over 50% of respondents did not know about this.

The study also sought to understand the aspirations of the single parents and their expectations. The study found a clear difference between the aspirations of those who are unemployed when compared with their expectations.

As for why these people were unemployed, four main reasons became apparent through their answers. The reasons were related to child care, lack of trust in formal and informal childcare, few suitable job opportunities and employers who are not family friendly.

Those not working who also did not mention they expect to work, gave their priorities for the next few years. Nearly 94% of the 31 respondents who fall within this category said that their priority was to stay home and raise their children, while 38.7% also said that they would be looking after a sick/disabled/elderly person.