If appointments are missed, the parent can be sanctioned – and the Universal Credit payments that they depend on reduced for a set period of time – for not doing something expected of them in relation to work-related requirements.

The change comes as a huge blow to single parents attempting to juggle dozens of plates alone.

“We are worried that as the government roll out this policy, lead carers – especially single parents – will be pushed into longer hours of work which are unmanageable,” Meghan Meek O’Connor, of child poverty charity Save the Children, tells Stylist. “Those parents who can’t meet the new work requirements may face sanctions, which risk pushing more families into poverty.”

Meek O’Connor says these sanctions, which she argues don’t work, will have a “knock-on effect” on parents’ and children’s wellbeing and mental health.

“Sanctions are supposed to be a way to support people into work, but in reality they often push people further from the labour market due to disengagement, frustration and worsening of health issues that can make it harder to find work,” she explains. “The DWP’s own analysis found sanctions were unhelpful in supporting people into sustainable work.”

In a survey of 638 single parents led by campaign group Single Parent Rights, it was found that 81% of single parents said the increase of work hours required was “unmanageable”.

How increasing work requirements for universal credit are pushing single mothers to the brink