More than a million children are growing up in the UK without a father, a report on family breakdown has found.
The Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) says that the number of lone-parent families is increasing by 20,000 a year and will reach more than two million by the time of the next general election in 2015.
The CSJ warned of a “tsunami” of family breakdown and accused the Government of a “feeble” response to the problem and of turning a blind eye to its commitment to promote family stability.
Some of the poorest parts of the country are becoming “men deserts”, the report found, because there are so few visible male role models for children.
One of the problems is the dearth of male teachers in primary schools.
The absence of fathers is also linked to higher rates of teenage crime, pregnancy and disadvantage, according to the report.
Christian Guy, director of the CSJ, said the human, social and financial costs are “devastating” for children and adults alike, yet the response from politicians of all colours has been “feeble”.
“For children growing up in some of the poorest parts of the country, men are rarely encountered in the home or in the classroom.
“This is an ignored form of deprivation that can have profoundly damaging consequences on social and mental development.
“There are ‘men deserts’ in many parts of our towns and cities and we urgently need to wake up to what is going wrong.”