MtheGM , you are no stranger to pedantic attention to detail so may I please request that you read my post of 15 Aug 10 - 08:09 PM
If you do so you may notice that the 'predicament' I quoted was that of J K Rowlings the author of the Harry Potter books as reported by her in an article in The Times (source to complete article provided)

"No fresh ideas, just the recycling of old dogmas, statistics, and quotations"

- Well sometimes the use of verifiable statistics and quotes from reliable informed sources is preferable to the ignorant, Mail inspired bigoted attitudes hawked by Gaint who I'm sure we have met in previous incarnation here

I have no idea what twisted bitter motives inspire Gaint to denounce people who are disabled, severely physically or mentally ill as 'scroungers' or to depict single parents as binge drinking, promiscuous 'thick little leeches'
However it appears he has found a happy hunting ground on this forum to propagate his calumnies against some of the most vulnerable in our society

So what is the appropriate response?

To allow such ignorant opinions to pass without either moderation or challenge and stand as the 'facts' he would have us all swallow?

What proportion of girls under 16 get pregnant each year?
Well if you believe the kind of stuff that the likes of Gaint, in this or his other incarnations, regurgitates you may be surprised to know that the actual figure is 0.8%
Still too high? - yes, of course

WHAT IT IS NOT!

As quoted in a recent Tory document - "In the most deprived areas, 54% are likely to fall pregnant before the age of 18 compared to 19% in the least deprived area"

It is difficult to know if these figures are an attempt to play on the most disturbing public stereotypes of young women living in deprived areas or merely the fact that someone does not understand basic maths and realize the original DCSF is quoting figures per 1000 population not percentage!!

The fact that teenage pregnacy is however higher in the most deprived areas however requires a seperate study of causes of its own


Lone parents spending benefit cash on booze and fags?

FACT!

Recent social research also undermines this populist suspicion propagated in the more rabid media

Looking at aspects of social exclusion Jane Waldfogel et al studied the spending patterns of low-income families and concluded that single parent families spent just £2.32 a week on alcohol and tobacco, compared to over £8 a week by couple families out of work. When their financial support was increased through tax credits in 1999. these parents didn't spend the extra resources on alcohol or tobacco, but on their children and on household necessities.
I for one do not want to go down the road suggested by John Redwood that single parents should be denied state support until they had first tried to give their children up for adoption

What next - compulsory sterilization for all the unemployed mothers divorced wives etc?