Number of one-parent families up by 24%

• Single parent families in Scotland rise from 140,000 to 174,000 since 1997

• Scotland's 24% rise outstrips UK rise of 17% in single parenting

• Single parents less likely to work; government to announce measures

Key quote

"There are a lot of jobs out there people could do... We have to be careful all the time that people aren't encouraged to stay on benefit when they could be working" - Tony Blair

Story in full THE number of one-parent families in Scotland has risen by a quarter since Labour came to power, official figures show.

The fresh evidence of family break-up comes as Tony Blair unveils his attempt to reform the welfare system - a system critics say has encouraged the growth of single-parent families.

According to official data obtained by The Scotsman, there are now 174,000 single-parent families in Scotland, up from 140,000 in 1997. And families in Scotland are disintegrating faster than those in other parts of Britain: Scotland's 24 per cent rise outstrips the UK-wide increase of 17 per cent.

The UK total has risen from 1.6 million to 1.88 million since Labour came to power, according to the Office of National Statistics.

The Department of Work and Pensions will today publish a long-awaited and twice-delayed welfare reform plan.

As well as trying to cut the 2.6 million people claiming Incapacity Benefit - 291,000 of them in Scotland - the plan will contain a range of measures aimed at single parents.

Because of the additional difficulties they face in finding the childcare that would enable them to go out to work, lone parents are disproportionately likely to be unemployed and claim benefits.

The Prime Minister yesterday signalled that as well as offering help, today's Welfare Green Paper will put pressure on single parents to seek work.

"There are a lot of jobs out there people could do," he said.

But Mr Blair also appeared to accept that welfare rules had contributed to welfare-dependency among lone parents.

"We have to be careful all the time that people aren't encouraged to stay on benefit when they could be working," he said.

The government's critics say that it is the benefits system that has contributed to the increasing number of single parents.

Cardinal Keith O'Brien, the head of the Catholic Church in Scotland, earlier this month launched a fierce attack on government ministers for what he said was their failure to support the family.

Yesterday, a spokesman for the Church said the new data support the cardinal's criticisms.

"Fiscal and social incentives to marry have largely disappeared. The benefits system has an inbuilt bias against marriage," said the spokesman.

"The result is that we're left with a system where the state is actually promoting social instability and insecurity, and children are the ultimate victims."

David Laws, the Lib Dem work and pensions spokesman, also blamed the benefits system for the rising number of lone parents. There is a financial "disincentive" for lone parents to take a new partner, Mr Laws said.

"Re-partnering affects your weekly benefits or tax credits - a potentially difficult sacrifice to make when you are only just making ends meet."

Government spokesmen insist that the rise in lone parents is a factor of social change, and not a result of any benefits rules.

2.6m claimants

INCAPACITY Benefit (IB) is the biggest target of today's welfare reform plan.

2.6 million people in Britain claim the benefit - 291,000 of them live in Scotland.

7 per cent of UK adults claim IB. That increases to 9 per cent in Scotland.

IB rises over time, up to 89 per week. That could be cut by 10.93 for claimants who refuse a work interview.