Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of amending the contribution condition in section 31 of the Pensions Act 2014 to provide for cases where the deceased was incapable of paid employment throughout their working life as a result of a lifelong disability.

The O'Donnell judgment concerned Northern Ireland legislation administered by the Department for Communities, so responsibility for responding to that judgment rested with the Northern Ireland authorities. Following the judgment, certain surviving partners in Northern Ireland could qualify for Bereavement Support Payment where the deceased had been unable to meet the contribution condition because of disability. Entitlement in Great Britain continued to be determined under the Great Britain legislative framework.

On 20 November 2025, the Supreme Court allowed the Secretary of State's appeal in R (Jwanczuk) v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions [2025] UKSC 42. The Court held that the Bereavement Support Payment contribution condition does not unlawfully discriminate against surviving partners of people who were unable to work because of disability. The approach adopted in Northern Ireland following O'Donnell no longer applies in Northern Ireland as a result of that judgement.

The Department has not carried out an equality impact assessment following the judgment in the Jwanczuk Supreme Court case. The Department is not proposing changes to the policy as a result of that judgment.

The Department has not undertaken a specific assessment of the merits of introducing a disability exception to the Bereavement Support Payment contribution condition. Whilst there are no current plans to amend the contribution conditions, the Department keeps bereavement support policy under review.