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 extending widower's pension allowance to widowed partners who were (a) engaged and due to be married, (b) co-habiting and (c) co-habiting with children.

Marriage and civil partnerships are legal contracts that are associated with certain rights, including inheritance, recognition in the tax system and entitlement to certain benefits.

A key principle of the National Insurance system is that all rights to benefits derived from another person’s contributions are based on the concept of legal marriage or civil partnership. This is a long-standing position in bereavement benefits which the Government has no plans to change.